Apostolos Topsidis

Apostolos Topsidis “Tolis” was born in Nea Visa on December 21, 1961, in a small village close to the boarder of Turkey.  His father a broom maker and a businessman and his mother a homemaker and great cook molded Tolis to be an adventurous rebel to venture out of the village to come to the USA in 1982 with a suitcase, a refrigeration certificate, along with a big dream to make his “babas” proud! Landing in New Jersey Tolis started the Life Program at Fairleigh Dickinson to learn English or at least to make the best attempt of mastering part of the language. Tolis then went on to pursue his BA in Electrical Engineering where he met (his lovely and future wife) Cristina.  The two continued their studies at FDU in Teaneck, NJ. Tolis at the time was working at a gas station on Route 4 East and dabbling in the pool construction business. By the time he finished his BA he left the gas station and Cristina had to buy her own gas and went on to get his Master’s in Electrical Engineering as he perfected his construction craft.  Now apart from working and studying Tolis had a great interest in music and channeling his artistic energy into playing the guitar, the arts, and books. In 1990 Tolis and Cristina got married and within a few years he gives birth to A & C Enterprises – Image Pools transforming yards and making people laugh and smile for the next 35 years. Now what Tolis lacked in creative and eloquent communication with others he compensated with his creativity and spatial concepts of transforming empty areas into elaborate and flowing spaces. But his creativity did not finish with his pools and surroundings, Tolis branched out to construct a house compromised of his ultimate creative epiphany and pride and joy in Woodstock NY.  Must say Tolis was and forever will be a unique person leaving behind here on earth his clone, Jazmin, his wife Cristina, a house built with his own hands in Woodstock, countless summer memories of people enjoying his creative pools, but mostly his dark humor, his endless gossiping, his sometimes unintelligible communication, his huge heart, his compassion to all living things, his endless creativity, his singing, his guitar playing (or so he claimed), his mentorship, his hot headedness, his stubbornness, his empathy, his solidity, his friendship, and his just being who he was/is…and amazing person!

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