'Gruff' Yellowknifer with 'heart of gold' dies
Long-time city dweller Peter Pagonis remembered for his strong opinions, love of dogs
James Goldie
Northern News Services
Friday, September 18, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Whether it was city council bracing for a Peter Pagonis rant or canines in Old Town perking their ears at the sound of his truck rattling down the street, one thing is certain: everyone seemed to know Pagonis.
Peter Pagonis and his wife, Darlene, met while he was working at Con Mine and she at the mine's cook house. This photo was taken in late 1980s. - photo courtesy of Pagonis family |
The long-time Yellowknifer died from complications from diabetes on Sept. 15 at the age of 80, leaving behind his wife Darlene, daughters Jennifer and Dianne, son Peter junior and five grandchildren.
He will be remembered for his fiercely opinionated nature, his giving spirit and his almost legendary love of dogs. Other people's dogs, that is.
"He'd drive around with a full bag of dog treats in his vehicle. Sometimes (he'd) overfeed people's dogs," recalled Dianne, with a shake of her head. He would lean out the window with the dog biscuits or pull right over and get out to have a visit with them.
"And the dogs knew his vehicle. They knew the sound of his vehicle and he'd feed every dog in town," Dianne said.
She and Jennifer, agreed his affection for the dogs of Yellowknife mirrored his affection for the people here, although both admit he may have had a funny way of showing it to some.
"He did not care what you thought of his opinion. His opinion was his opinion," said Dianne. And he wasn't afraid to share it.
Pagonis was known for his heated appearances at city council, railing against one thing or another. According to his daughters, sometimes it was like he was testing the municipal authorities, seeing how far he could push them. In 1977, the City of Yellowknife awarded him a framed photo of himself labelled "The Biggest S--- Disturber in Town" because he always had a bone to pick with some civic official.
Pagonis was born in Greece in 1935 and came to Canada as a young man, making his way to Yellowknife in 1953. He never left. Pagonis got a job at Con Mine where he worked for 16 years. He met his wife, Darlene (nee Clegg), there at the mine's cook house where she had come to work with her mother.
"We met in January 1962. And we got married November 10, 1962," she said, with a laugh. "Everybody told me how bad he was but he turned out to be the best guy I could have ever found."
When Pagonis finished working at Con Mine in 1969, he started a water hauling company called Sinogap (that's Pagonis spelled backward), and landed a contract with the city, delivering water throughout Yellowknife, especially Old Town and Latham Island.
"Pete was a pretty generous guy. He made sure that all of the old-timers who lived in the shacks on the flats there, whether they had an account with the city or not, he would make sure that they had water," said Mike Byrne, who knew Pagonis most of his life.
"You develop a rapport or relationship with your water man," he said. After all, with some of the old water systems, people would be letting Pagonis into their homes sometimes twice a week to fill the tanks. They relied on him.
"He was doing most of that himself when Old Town was smaller, so he had a very special relationship with a lot of people," said Byrne.
Sinogap wasn't the only Pagonis business in town - he also owned a gas station, a tire shop and several warehouses including the blue and white striped buildings near the airport and at the entrance to Old Town, coloured so in homage to his Greek heritage.
Even after selling the water business in the early 1980s, he never fully retired.
"He was still doing property management," said Jennifer. "He was not a lazy man. His theory was: the minute you stopped was the minute you were done."
In his final months of care at the hospital, Pagonis continued to make friends. Some of the staff would even drop by to visit him when they were off duty. One nurse initially admitted to Pagonis' daughters that his blunt personality stressed her out and made her uneasy.
"'Talk to him exactly the way he talks to you. Gruff and tell him (what's what), and he will respond way better,'" Dianne said she told the nurse.
She checked back in a week and things were going swimmingly.
"He liked to push buttons, and he responded better to strong personalities," said Dianne, smiling.
"He was gruff and everything, and he told it like it is, but he had a heart of gold."
