Tony and Mary Stathos are both children of Greek immigrant parents. Tony Stathos was born on January 15, 1928 in Sacramento. His mother Stavroula Stathos was born in Kalamata, Greece. His father Peter George Stathos was born in 1882 in a village called Azlanga, just outside of Kalamata, Greece. Peter immigrated to the United States in 1902, Stavroula followed twenty years later in 1922. Peter worked for the Setzer Box Factory, while Stavroula worked for a cannery in Sacramento. Growing up Tony aspired to be a pilot, so he joined the Air Force just after high school. As a child though, he worked in various places. Such as the Bearcut Richards cannery, at the fish market, and pruning trees. After marrying Mary, he worked as a gas station attendant, delivery for the Sacramento Union newspaper, and later as a school teacher.
Mary Stathos is the daughter of Greek immigrants. She was born in Sacramento on February 27, 1935. Her father Dan A. Fotos was born in 1891 in Greece in a small village in the West. He immigrated to the United States in 1909 and worked his way across the country to settle with his brothers in Sacramento. He worked building railroads and at one point opened a secondhand shop in San Francisco. In Sacramento he worked for a laundry and linen supply company, and eventually opened his own business. Eugene's mother, Zestrina Prongos, was born in 1910 in the village of Kyparissi. She immigrated to the United States, through Cuba, in 1931 to be married. With a family of six children, Zestrina did not work outside of the house. Growing up, Mary worked alongside her siblings at the family business. She married Tony Stathos at the age of 17 and later raised her family.
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