'Chairman Pete' Liakakis dies at age 90; Savannahian was a community icon

Pete Liakakis, a leader who came to symbolize public service in Savannah, died Thursday at his home. He was 90.

The Savannah native served on both the Savannah City Council and the Chatham County Commission, leading the commission as chairman. He embraced the notion that elected officials should be the face of their communities and insisted on attending and participating in community events, from ribbon cuttings to neighborhood associations to galas - often multiple ones on the same day.

As Liakakis obituary on the Fox & Weeks funeral home website reads, Liakakis "left for his last 'important' meeting" upon his death.

Added Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, who served alongside Liakakis, "Savannah has lost a true giant in the passing of my friend and community champion, Chairman Pete Liakakis.

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The consummate public servant, Pete ... was infamously known for being (in) more than one place at the same time as he actively served many, many causes."

"He was so active and participated in events everywhere," said William W. Hubbard, president and CEO of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce.

Hubbard described how Liakakis would always help out at the annual Savannah-Chatham Day Legislative Oyster Roast in Atlanta.

"He was the first guy in line handing out aprons to all the state elected officials," said Hubbard. "He was always personally engaged and very hands on."

Miriam Center, a Savannah native, playwright and good friend of Liakakis, said he would often "talk your head off."

Said Center, "You could ask, 'Hey, what have you been doing lately?' and that's all it took."

Those who knew Liakakis describe him as friendly and welcoming. But Father John Wallace, priest at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church where Liakakis worshipped, also dubbed him as a little bit mischievous.

Wallace said he was dining with his family at the Original Pancake House on a regular afternoon and went up to pay the bill only to find out someone had already taken care of it.

"Before I leave, someone comes up and pats me on the shoulder from behind ... and it's Pete ... he gives me a great big bear hug," recounts Wallace, "I had the definite impression that I was not the first person he's done that for."

Liakakis' life was one well-lived. Upon graduation from Savannah High School in the early 1940s, Liakakis enlisted in the United States Air Force, where his training included intelligence operations. He would employ those skills throughout his professional career, which included stints in government service and as the operator of detective and security agencies.

Liakakis gained fame beyond Savannah for his work as actor Burt Reynolds' bodyguard. Diminutive in stature and quick with a smile, Liakakis did not meet the stereotypical image of a celebrity muscleman, but his martial arts skills - black belts in karate and kung fu - and the widely held knowledge that he carried a pistol in his boot served Reynolds well.

Liakakis and Reynolds would go on to own racehorses together and co-found a TV and film production company, Sun Classic Pictures.

Liakakis began his community service career as a stalwart supporter of Savannah charitable organizations. His entry into politics was as a campaign manager for local Democrats. He was elected to Savannah City Council as an alderman at-large in 1995 and again in 1999.

Liakakis left his alderman's post after two terms to run for mayor, a race he lost to Otis Johnson. He ran for chairman of the Chatham Commission a year later, winning that seat.

He served two terms as the county government's leader and petitioned the Georgia General Assembly to lift the chairman's term-limit provision in order to run for a third. That bid was unsuccessful and he left government service in 2012 at age 80.

Liakakis's connection with the community led to the county naming a government building on West Oglethorpe Street in his honor.

"People often called him the 'Energizer Bunny'," said state Sen. Lester Jackson, "Over two decades of public service, he epitomized the term 'public servant.' He was good for the city of Savannah and good for Chatham County. He has had elected officials titles, but he was also an active supporter of all the citizens of Chatham County."

State Rep. and former Savannah mayor Edna Jackson said Liakakis did all of those things "unconditionally".

"He is just like what all of us should be, and that is a servant leader."

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Liakakis is survived by his wife, Mary Jean, and children Toney Liakakis, Georgia Tidler, and Helen Panagopoulos as well as three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A public memorial is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19 at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, also at the church, with internment immediately following at Forest Lawn Mausoleum.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Pete Liakakis, former city councilman and county commissioner, dies