TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: Isidoros Constantine "Steve" Skarvellis (1913 – 1974)

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: Isidoros Constantine "Steve" Skarvellis (1913 – 1974)

I have always believed that the true beauty of America is rooted in the variety of the people that have made it home, and the rich mixture of the world's cultures that have come with them. Through customs, traditions, music, culinary delights and more, we can sample a little bit of a world tour without ever leaving our borders. Texas is no different from the rest of the nation, as we well know here in our county on the coast, where many emigrants have landed and made Texas their home. Two such families came across the Atlantic Ocean, through Ellis Island, and travelled all the way down to Port Lavaca, bringing with them the rich culture of their native country. 

It was December 28,1908, and in Chois, Greece, Constantine, and Masoula Sousaris Skarvellis welcomed a baby boy into their family, they named him Isidoros Constantine, after his father. The couple added two daughters to the family, to make it complete. 

Five years later, on January 13, 1913, in Chois, Greece, a baby girl that was named Irene, was born to Nick, and Anna Meles Kutris. The two children born on the Greek Island of Chois were destined to be together, but not in Greece. 

Both families emigrated to the United States around 1915, the Skarvellis family boarded the S.S. Athinai, sailing from Piraeus and arrived on Ellis Island that year. The families settled in Butler, Pennsylvania and raised their young families there. Anna (Meles) Kutris’s brother, Gus Meles, had emigrated to the United States moving to Port Lavaca in 1906. 

The fishing industry was the biggest industry in the city at that time, and Gus bought an oyster/fishing boat named the “Rosalie M.” Seafood was shipped out to various places and Gus worked his boat for a few years, after which he worked for Young’s Union House. Gus then moved to Victoria where he ran a café for awhile. In 1915 he returned to Port Lavaca and opened a café in the old Marsh building. The businesses at that time were on Commerce Street, and there was just one road leading into town. Gus did a good business serving delicious food in a sanitary establishment. In 1928 he bought his own property, built his own place on Main Street, and named it Farmer’s Café. It was extremely popular and made a profitable living for Gus. At one point he remodeled the building and renamed the place Liberty Café. Today, the building that was Gus Meles Liberty Café can still be visited on Main Street in Downtown Port Lavaca. It is located next door to the Green Iguana and is now home to The House of Hair at 135 East Main Street.

About 1940 Nick and Anna Kutris moved from Pennsylvania to Port Lavaca to join Anna’s brother’s Gus and Nick. Nick Kutris opened a hamburger stand in downtown Port Lavaca. 

The Skarvellis family made Butler, Pennsylvania home. Isidoros Constantine, better known as “Steve,” Skarvellis registered for the draft in WWII there and then he made the trip from Pennsylvania to Port Lavaca. With train tickets in hand, he was set on marrying the girl from Greece, that he had grown up with in America, Irene Kutris, and take her back to Butler, where they would make a home. 

On November 9, 1941, a Greek Orthodox Priest from San Antonio married Steve and Irene at Grace Episcopal Church, in Port Lavaca.  The newlyweds decided to delay their trip back home to Butler, PA, opting to stay with Irene’s family for the Thanksgiving Holiday. During that time Steve gained a fondness for the people and the spirit of the little city, and the couple decided to stay and make this their home. 

Steve took a job with Irene’s uncle Gus at the Liberty Café on Main Street in downtown Port Lavaca from 1941 until 1948, when he opened his own cafe, and named it The LaSalle Restaurant. 

Irene worked at home raising their two daughters, Marlene, born on October 29, 1943, and Gail Ann, born on August 16, 1945. The girls were born in Victoria because Port Lavaca did not have a hospital at that time. The girls both played the piano, Marlene went on to achieve several music awards, Gail Ann left piano for dancing classes which she enjoyed a great deal more. The girls both graduated from Calhoun High School. Gail was a member of the Future Teachers of America and spent several years as a substitute teacher in CCISD schools. Eventually she went into real estate and made her home in San Antonio. Marlene earned her master's degree from the University of Texas. She then returned to Port Lavaca and taught school at Calhoun High School for four years. She married and moved to San Antonio and raised two children of her own. 

In the 1950 Census Steve’s father, Constantine, is shown to be a widower and living with Steve, Irene, and the girls. Besides raising her girls and taking care of things at home, Irene also worked along side Steve in the restaurant. They had a successful business, and both were well known in Port Lavaca and Calhoun County. In the 1950 Census it is recorded that Steve worked 80 hours a week, and Irene worked 40 hours a week in their restaurant, and anyone who runs a business can relate to that being pretty accurate. 1964 Steve’s health started to decline, and he and Irene closed the business. Alcoa Steamship Lines were running then, and Greek ships would stop at the port. Steve worked at the docks as an interpreter and would sometimes take orders for ship supplies and take them to town to be filled. This worked well for the family, but Steve missed the family business so in 1967 he reopened his business and renamed it The Coffee Pot Café. Both the LaSalle Restaurant and the Coffee Pot Café were in the same building. Sadly, it was only open for a few years before Steve’s health again forced him to close the business for good and retire.

 I remember the building having black tiles that curved part of the outer wall in towards the door, and as a kid, I always thought it was so “up town.” The building sat right next to the Regan building on Main Street but is no longer there. In 2003, Hurricane Claudette took down 2 building facades which had to be removed. Steve Skarvellis’s restaurant was one of them. Now the foundation is illuminated with lights, a gazebo, and benches sit on top of it, known now as the Faye Bauer Sterling Park on Main Street. 

Steve and Irene were both members of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Corpus Christi. Steve was a mason in the Lavaca Lodge #36, a member of the Rotary Club, and Steve and Irene were both members of Order of the Eastern Star, Chapter 373. 

Irene passed away in 1971, and Steve followed her in 1974. They are buried in Port Lavaca Cemetery along with Irene’s parents, Nick and Anna Kutris, and uncles, Gus, and Nick Meles. 

Researched and written by: Sheryl Cuellar

Shifting Sands of Calhoun County

The Place I Live a Photographer’s Perspective by Dean Johnstone

The Victoria Advocate