William "Bill" Gregory Demas
February 5, 1933 — June 13, 2017
William "Bill" Gregory Demas
Bill Demas was born in Sacramento on February 5, 1933 with his identical twin brother Jim. His parents Gregory and Martha both immigrants from Greece settled in Sacramento where they raised their family. He is survived by his loving wife Suzanne, and step-son Brett Harris and his wife Phoebe and his sister Ester Leles. He was preceded in death by his first wife Kathy, his parents, brother Jim, and sister Voula. Bill was raised in Sacramento, graduating from Sacramento High where he was the Student Body President. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1955. While at Cal he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta and the Captain of the Varsity Tennis Team in 1954 and 1955. Bill joined the U.S. Marine Corp. and was a commissioned officer from 1955 to 1957. After his service, he entered the life insurance business in 1957 starting the Demas Insurance Agency. He was a Life and Qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table for 60 continuous years. In 1995, he was named American General Life's nationwide Agent of the Year. At a young age Bill and brother Jim took up tennis. He became a nationally ranked player having played in the U.S. Open Championships. He was the Sacramento City champion for many years and was inducted into the Sacramento Tennis Hall of Fame. In the late 60's and early 70's Bill was the Director of the National Hard Court Championships that were played at Sutter Lawn Tennis Club. This tournament brought such notables as Bjorn Borg, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Ille Nastase, Tony Trabert, Billie Jean King, Nancy Richey and Rosemary Casals to name a few. Bill was a Past President of Sutter Lawn and one of its longest tenured members, having joined in 1948 at age 15. Community service was a big part of Bill's life. He was a Past President of the Del Paso Country Club, Sacramento Host Lions Club, Sutter Lawn Tennis Club and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. In 1982, he was the Chairman of the U.S. Women's Open at Del Paso. He was an active member of the Sutter Club, Del Paso Country Club, Sutter Lawn Tennis Club and Spyglass Hill Golf Club and served as a Trustee for Jesuit High School and the Greek Orthodox Church.
A Trisagion will be held at 7PM on Monday, June 19 at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, 9165 Peets St., Elk Grove CA. Funeral services will be held at 10AM on Tuesday, June 20 at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church. Remembrances can be made in Bill's honor to the Del Paso Foundation, 3333 Marconi Avenue, Sacramento CA 95821. He will be greatly missed by his many friends and family.
Go Bears!
A Trisagion will be held at 7PM on Monday, June 19 at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, 9165 Peets St., Elk Grove CA. Funeral services will be held at 10AM on Tuesday, June 20 at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church. Remembrances can be made in Bill's honor to the Del Paso Foundation, 3333 Marconi Avenue, Sacramento CA 95821. He will be greatly missed by his many friends and family.
Go Bears!
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