A. CHELMSFORD Leo Panas, who had lived in Chelmsford for a very long time, passed away in a calm and serene manner on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, at Lowell General Hospital, Saints Campus. He was surrounded by his devoted family at the time of his passing. During their 66 years of marriage, he was the cherished husband of Anne (Quinn) Panas, with whom he had dedicated his life. On May 20th, 1924, he was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. Garafalia (Arvanites) and Demetrius Panagopoulos, both of whom were Greek immigrants, are the individual’s parents.
Leo spent his childhood in the Acre neighbourhood of Lowell, which fostered the formation of a large number of connections that would last a lifetime. He was drafted into the United States Army shortly after he received his diploma from Lowell High School. As a front-line combat veteran with the 36th Texas Division during World War II, Leo served with distinction in Africa, Italy, France, Bavaria, and Germany throughout the duration of the conflict. After making it across the famed Rapido River crossing, he was later injured in combat near Monte Cassino, which is located in Italy. For his service, Leo was honoured with the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantry Badge, and the French Medal of Honour. He was quite proud of all of these honours.
Following his return to the United States, Leo received his degrees from the Massachusetts College of Art, Fitchburg State College, and Boston University while he was there. He started off as a travelling art teacher for the Lowell Public Schools, and it was there that he met Anne, the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. Later on, Leo was employed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to establish and organise an art department at Lowell Teachers College, which is now known as UMASS Lowell. He served as a Professor of Art History at Lowell Teachers College for a period of thirty years.
Additionally, he was a professor at Northeastern University for a period of fifteen years. Leo’s professional experiences include serving as the former president of the Whistler Museum, bringing murals to the city of Lowell through Community Teamwork, writing two books about the Greek and Irish immigrants who settled in Lowell, creating religious iconography for local churches, being an incredible artist, and producing sports cartoons for the Lowell Sun. All of these accomplishments are included in his list of professional experiences. There was never a dull moment in the house when it came to sports, and this was especially true when it came to Leo and his St. Louis Cardinals squad.
Together with his family, he developed a lifelong interest for art and travel, which he shared with them with great affection. A few examples of valuable experiences are spending the summers in Ireland, travelling throughout Europe for a period of four months, taking a hair-raising pontoon boat journey to the Blasket Islands, exploring the hamlet of Stupa in Greece, and tracing the roots of one’s family. Leo did, in fact, go on a special trip by himself to Mount Athos in Greece in order to watch and study the monks who were silent. After coming home, he created exceptional scenes that he had painted during the trip, which he described in his notebook.
Many people counted Leo as a close friend. It was not the food that he appreciated with his breakfast companions; rather, it was the companionship and discussion that he found. Leo, who was 85 years old at the time, took it upon himself to play the dual position of father and grandfather in order to ensure that his grandkids continued to have a strong masculine influence and that they felt loved following the death of their own father. Every Sunday morning, he would arrive with donuts to sit at the table with his grandchildren. He was enthusiastic about attending school activities and graduations, and he never missed an opportunity to watch sporting events with his grandchildren. A genuine hero.
