Vasilios "Billy" Kesaris of Woburn, passed away, October 29th, peacefully with his 4 children and sisters by his side. Born in Igoumenitsa, Greece he was 1 of 4 children born to Efstathios Kesaris and Constantina (Haritos) Kesaris. The family emigrated to Worcester, MA during his teenage years and he later settled in Woburn, MA where he spent the majority of his life. Billy owned and operated many successful pizza shops throughout his life. Most notably Billy`s Famous Pizza in Merrimack, NH and Woburn House of Pizza in Woburn, MA. Even after his liver transplant in 2000 which forced him into early retirement, he played an integral part in mentoring his children to start successful businesses of their own.

Billy was the type of guy who never gave up. He faced multiple illnesses in the last 25 years, yet each and every time doctors counted him out, he proved them wrong. Doctors and nurses alike would marvel at how much he had been through and often referred to him as "Bionic Billy". He had a will to live that was unmatched by others. Yet, as we know, behind every strong man there is a strong woman and Billy certainly had a number of strong women in his life. Two of those women are his sisters, Spiridoula and Maria. Spiridoula selflessly donated 63% of her liver to her brother when he was in desperate need of a donor and Maria was his fulltime caretaker after his liver transplant and more recently the last 3 years as he suffered from End Stage Renal Disease. They were the driving force in his recovery after each and every hospital stay.

However, if anyone were to ask what part of his life he was most proud of Billy would say without a doubt his role as father and grandfather. Billy was grandfather to 5 beautiful girls who he lovingly called "Pappou`s Superstars". They were the joys of his life and he always smiled brightest when he was with them. Due to his declining health, the last few years were hard on him, but he always made sure his children and granddaughters had everything they needed. He was their guiding light and was always available to talk, offer advice, or even just listen.

In addition to his family, he was also very proud of his heritage. Instilling Greek values and teaching his kids about Greek culture was so important to him. He would often talk about Povla, the village his dad was from and regaled his children with stories of his childhood. These stories were spoken so often and from the time they were young he would tell them, "I love you all the way to Povla". To this day, this is something they regularly say to each other and now continue to say to their own children as well.

Billy is survived by his sisters Spiridoula Kesaris and Maria Gizas of Woburn and his older brother, Stavros Kesaris of Burlington. He was the beloved father of 4 children, Dina Kesaris and her husband Keith Hellmold of Woburn, Christina Kesaris-Tardi and her husband Joseph Tardi of Ft Lauderdale, FL, Stathis Kesaris and his wife Ninielle Bushmich of Andover and Elena Kesaris of Woburn. His 5 superstars and the loves of his life were his granddaughters Maya and Eva Hellmold, Demitra and Chloe Kotopoulos, and Sofia Kesaris. He is also survived by his former wife turned longtime friend, Athena Kesaris. As one would imagine with a big Greek family he is survived by many cousins, nieces, and nephews, as well as his grandnephews, Johnny and Luke and grandniece, Alexandra. With so much love surrounding him it is no doubt he will continue to be loved all the way to Povla and beyond.

A funeral service will be conducted at the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, 70 Montvale Ave, Friday, November 1st, at 10:30 a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours at the church will be held prior to the service from 9 a.m. to 10 30 a.m. Services will conclude with burial at Hope Cemetery in Worcester. Arrangements by the McLaughlin - Dello Russo Funeral Service of Woburn.