John Georgas has a parkette named after him to honour his many years of service helping children learn to swim.
Newmarket
March 25, 2008 07:08 AM
By: Teresa Latchford
Above the snow-covered ground, the sun still shines on the tiny parkette on Allen Avenue.
The green-topped jungle gym with a matching half-pipe slide beckons fun. Two large trees provide shade over the matching bench perched in the park, which offers a sense of comfort, much like the man the area is named after, John Georgas.
“It’s quite an honour,” he said.
“And, hey, I made it while I’m still alive. How many can say that?”
The park is about 50 feet from his Sheridan Court home where he has lived for the past four years.
He is no stranger to Newmarket, having been born at Southlake Regional Health Centre, then known as York Simcoe Hospital.
He was educated at Stewart Scott and Alexander Muir public schools, Pickering College and old Newmarket High.
It seems the perfect fit to name a neighbourhood park, where children laugh and play, after a man whose sense of humour has brought joy to many throughout the years.
His dedication to teaching children also fits the bill as he was a swimming instructor for 44 years.
“I loved teaching swimming and loved the kids,” he said, mentioning some of his former students still call him to talk. “People nicknamed me Big John, friend of the little kids.”
His mother told him to become a lifeguard, even though he didn’t know how to swim, but, in a few months, he picked up the technique and worked at the Gorman pool for the next four years. He later became the recreation director and pool instructor at the Bayview Country Club in Thornhill, then onto the Aurora Highlands Golf & Country Club.
Mr. Georgas has taught about 44,000 people to swim, he estimates, including those he taught through his own business, John Georgas Aquatics, in a pool he built on Main Street North. He has taught people to swim in ponds, lakes and pools across the region.
It was difficult for Mr. Georgas to retire from his passion of helping others keep their heads above water because it was a decision he was not able to make but, rather, was forced into.
He remembers the first day he noticed his vision was affected by diabetes. He was in the pool and, when taking a quick glance at the clock, he saw two instead of one.
The same day, he was driving home and the sun hit his eyes and he was blind.
“It was a little frightening,” he said, adjusting himself in his seat.
“I couldn’t see anything and had to follow the tailights of other cars home.”
He was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy, damage to the blood vessels of the retina, a direct result of the disease.
Since his diagnosis, he has lost a significant portion of his vision, proper use of one of his ankles, which requires a costly medical boot for him to walk, and the full use of his fingers, preventing him from playing the piano.
“Now I can’t swim because of the dialysis and can’t play piano because of my hands,” he said, lounging on the brown leather sofa in his livingroom. “But I can still laugh, so that’s a plus.”
He was, and still is, known for being the class clown. Being able to make others laugh has come easily for Mr. Georgas, a natural talent. He has been master of ceremonies at many private and public functions and is the main attraction when it comes to “roasts”.
“I remember the police being called to a party I was at to tend to some gate crashers,” he laughed. “I was playing the piano when I saw the police officers coming down the stairs and I couldn’t resist playing keystone cops: all they could do was laugh.”
Karen Barker, a member of the Newmarket Lions Club describes Mr. Georgas as a wonderful man who is full of musical talent. Having had the pleasure of enjoying his performances during the local music festival has been a memory etched in her mind.
“I grew up knowing him as an impressive musician,” she added. “He is a man who always sees the glass half full, not half empty.”
His ability to play piano and fascination with “boogie woogie” songs made him the life of the party as he entertained at numerous bars in the area; time to which he refers as his “pub crawl” days.
“I wrote a couple of songs for the town about the local merchants,” he said. “People would hang around to hear me play. I miss all that.”
Having diabetes is a nuisance, he admits, but nothing will ever stifle his laughter, as he prides himself on being an upbeat kind of guy with a great sense of humour.
John Georgas finishes our sentences:
If I had to choose a last meal it would be ... cordon bleu.
I like to listen to ... anything upbeat. I could listen to boogie woogie all night.
My guilty pleasure is ... Reese’s peanut butter cups. I’m diabetic and am not supposed to have them.
The best musicians are ... Jerry Lee Lewis and Victor Borge.
My autobiography would be entitled ... The Life and Times of Big John.