Demetrios Panagiotou Kanellakos

MADISON - Demetrios P. Kanellakos died comfortably at age 93 on the morning of June 12, 2026, in Madison, Wis. Demetri was born to Panagiotis and Calliope as their fourth child of five in the town of Tripoli in the county of Arcadia, Peloponnesus, Greece on October 26, 1932. As a teenager, Demetri immigrated to the U.S. from Greece on a student visa and in one year, he completed his last two years of school lessons to graduate from high school. After high school, he was accepted to the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and also Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but decided to attend IIT in Chicago to maintain the free room and board with his uncle. He studied Electrical Engineering, continuing through to earn a Ph.D. after completing dissertation work on the ionospheric effects of solar flares.

While in Chicago, Demetri met a beautiful woman named Chrisoula. Chrisoula was an English Literature student at Roosevelt University in Chicago. The two married, and shortly thereafter they road tripped across the U.S. to start a new chapter in Palo Alto, Calif., where Demetri worked as a Radio Physicist at Stanford Research Institute before moving to the Aerospace industry for the rest of his engineering career. Together they had three children, Al, Paul and Leda. After divorcing following 18 years of marriage, he added part-time teaching at San Jose State University. Later, he retired at age 55 to pursue a different path.

Among his colleagues and friends, Demetri was also known as “Takis,” but called “Pappou” by most who knew him in later years. Proud of his Greek heritage, he relished Greek mythology, philosophy, music and dance, and family lore. He frequently shared stories with others who asked. Demetri also studied religions, often speaking about shared values and ideologies across diverse belief systems. He was a teacher and practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM), a tool he adopted in his 40s and held on to until his last days. He also generously shared and lectured about Ayurvedic medicine and the stress-reducing benefits of TM.

Demetri was also a child-survivor of war. His early experiences, such as enduring hunger from food shortages for several days at a time, and witnessing the typical atrocities of war, shaped his greater desire to travel all over the world, teaching meditation, and promoting peace. Across his life, he also enjoyed running, hiking, swimming, playing harmonica and singing. He was a regular member of any Greek Orthodox Church he could find close to home. His latest home in Madison brought him to Assumption Greek Orthodox Church. For years he sang the Orthros as one of their cantors, only stopping months before he passed away.

Remarkable memorable characteristics included his ability to meet new people anywhere, make them smile, and put most everyone at ease. All that met him adored his charming anecdotes or when he would tell the Greek meaning in their names. They relished his kindness and beautiful smile. He had a very analytical mind, but also a silly sense of humor and playful spirit.

Surviving family members include his children; grandchildren, Oliver and Eden; and many cousins, nieces and nephews across the U.S., Greece, England and Germany. He was preceded in death by Chrisoula; his loving parents; and siblings, Eleni, Mata, George, and Elias.

The funeral service will be held at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 11 N. Seventh St., Madison, Wis., at 10:15 a.m. on Friday, June 19, 2026, directly followed by a memorial luncheon. Visitation will be held at the church from 9 a.m. until the time of the service on Friday. Finally, Demetri will be set to rest with a green burial at Resurrection Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, Demetri requested donations be made to Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, or their philanthropic arm, The Philoptochos Society - Madison, WI Chapter.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420