Serving in the vehicle supply unit of the U.S. 9th Army during World War II, Thomas A. Athens made sure the heavy steel combat vehicles operated properly before they were sent to the front lines in France, Belgium and Germany.
Working with steel would remain a part of his life for many years.
Mr. Athens, 81, of Lake Forest, a longtime steel company owner and fundraiser for Chicago’s Greek community, died of respiratory arrest Tuesday, June 4, in Holy Family Medical Center, Des Plaines.
He was born in Chicago to immigrant parents who were hurt by the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the Depression that followed.
“We knew what it was to be without,” said Mr. Athens’ brother Andrew. “It became a motivation for us to give back to our community.”
After the war Mr. Athens returned to Belgium to visit his brother, who had started a steel company there. While he was in Europe, the Korean War broke out and U.S. manufacturers needed materials that Metron Steel Corp. was able to supply.
The brothers later returned to Chicago, starting one of the largest independent steel service centers in the country. Metron supplied made-to-order steel for the railroad industry, construction equipment manufacturers, farm equipment companies and builders in 22 states.
Mr. Athens, as executive vice president in charge of sales and marketing, was the man who brought in the clients.
Mr. Athens used those same skills to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for church organizations. It was through his efforts that Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Glenview was built.
“He wanted to do anything he could to better the Greek-American way of life,” his daughter Elise Bard said.
At home, he was known to talk to his children about the importance of finding their way in the United States and helped guide them in their careers.
“My brother was 3 years old when my dad put a stethoscope around his neck,” Bard said. Aris Athens, who is no longer alive, went on to become a physician and surgeon, and his sisters a nurse and a teacher.
“It was just the way he wanted,” said Bard, the nurse. “He was old-fashioned that way.”
Other survivors include his wife, Irene; another daughter, Carol Burke; a sister, Tula Georgeson; a brother, Dr. William; and eight grandchildren.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday in Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 6150 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Sts. Peter and Paul Church, 1401 Wagner Rd., Glenview.
