Funeral arrangements set for Ann Arbor family killed in fire

John Alexandropoulos took care of his parents as they got older, which allowed them to remain at their Waverly Road home instead of a nursing home, friends said.

He gave them their space, immersing himself in projects in the basement that included developing technology for military use, said friend Peter Roulo.

“He really did everything for his parents,” Roulo said. “He really loved them. He was just very caring.”

On Friday, a funeral service will be held for Alexandropoulos and his parents, Demetri and Joanna, who died in a fire early Sunday at their Ann Arbor home.

John Alexandropoulos is pictured in this photo from 1987.

Courtesy photo

The service is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church on Scio Church Road.

Authorities say the fire may have started in the basement, but they have no reason to believe it’s suspicious.

It was the deadliest blaze in Washtenaw County in more than two-and-a-half years.

Roulo, co-owner of Eyemedia Sound & Vision, a home theater and stereo equipment store on West Stadium Boulevard, went out to dinner with John Alexandropoulos and other friends last Tuesday.

Alexandropoulos was excited about a recent project, Roulo said.

He developed a tablet personal computer that military agencies could use in the field to identify people simply by taking their picture, Roulo said. The computer was designed to pull up information on people from a federal law enforcement database.

“He brought the unit in here after he was finished building it,” said Roulo. “We played around with it. It was cool. I was fascinated he could build a computer from scratch and it worked.”

Many of his jobs were for Pioneer Technology Services Inc. in Howell, including Y2K certification work in 1999 for the city of Detroit, said friend and former colleague Ben Van Houweling.

While Alexandropoulos enjoyed going to movies, bars and occasionally hunting, he was fascinated with how things worked and strived to make them work better, friends said.

“His mind was always working,” Van Houweling said. “He was just very curious."

Friends said he remembered most everything he saw or read.

“He’s one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever known,” Van Houweling said. “He was extremely generous. He definitely will be missed. That’s for sure.”

Joanna and Demetri Alexandropoulos are pictured in this photo from 1977.

Courtesy photo

Many in the local Greek community were saddened by the deaths, including Nick Roumel, an attorney who also works as a food writer for Current Magazine, a local arts and entertainment publication.

Roumel got his first taste of the restaurant business working as a dishwasher for Demetri Alexandropoulos at a restaurant on State Street in 1974.

Roumel was a freshman at University of Michigan and needed to make some cash because his girlfriend was visiting from Pittsburgh.

Alexandropoulos treated his employees well, Roumel said.

“He always let me eat something after I was done working,” he said. “He would make me whatever I wanted. A Greek omelette, ice cream sundae…He was very kind.”

Sunday’s fire was the deadliest in Michigan since July 25, when four people were killed in a fire in Hancock in Houghton County, according to Rhonda Howard, a department analyst for the state’s bureau of fire services.

The last fire to claim several lives in Washtenaw County occurred on Feb. 8, 2007, when three children - ages 1, 5 and 7 - died in a fire at Paradise Manor in Ypsilanti.

As of the end of September, 111 people have died in 96 fires in the state. In 2008, 161 people died in 150 fires statewide, Howard said.

Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at leehiggins@annarbor.com or 734-623-2527.