Paris Tsangaris

Paris Tsangaris, 73, of Indian Harbour Beach, FL passed away on Friday, May 1, 2026 in the arms of his loving wife, Elaine. He was born on June 17, 1952 in Youngstown, Ohio. Parry earned a Bachelor of Engineering Degree from Youngstown State University. He went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Project Management from the Keller School of Management.

Parry was very proud of his Greek heritage and spoke Greek fluently. His interest in Greek music expanded when he studied to play the bouzouki in Greece during the summer of 1967. He started his own band, which later became the Grecian Lads, in 1968 while still in high school. The Lads played all over the country for decades and recorded three LPs. Parry sang, played bouzouki and clarinet, and often recorded his own harmony. He had a classic Greek singing voice, and the group became well known, especially throughout the Midwest.

For many years, Parry was an employee of Dusi Music on Market St. in Youngstown while he attended college. There, he learned additional skills with instruments, including how to professionally repair them.

Parry started his engineering career in Cleveland, Ohio as a speaker engineer for Rola, a division of Jensen, from 1984–1987. He was then recruited to Harmon Automotive, where he remained until 1990. Oxford Speaker Co. later recruited Parry, where he spent five years as Engineering Manager in the Chicago area. He developed business relationships that brought in customers such as Boeing and many of the Big Three automotive companies. After several attempts to recruit him, Knowles finally succeeded in 1995. There, as Manager of Receiver Development, Parry received a patent award for his invention of the Shock Resistant Electroacoustic Transducer. He earned additional patent awards and eventually left the company as Director of Engineering.

Parry went to work for Shure Incorporated in 2005. These were the happiest years of his career. The role was a perfect fit for his electrical engineering expertise, project management skills, and musical background, leading to additional patent awards, including one for the Earphone Assembly. How did they get all that bass into such a small earphone? The answer: The Labyrinth. Leave it to a Greek!

He earned many patent awards throughout his career, but one outstanding accomplishment came when he was invited to present his successful case history on neodymium loudspeaker design at the Gorham Advanced Materials Institute’s 6^th International NdFeB Conference in June 1990.

Starting in 2002, Parry volunteered at Willow Creek Community Church in the Video Department and remained there for 10 years. During that time, he operated television cameras, worked as an iris operator, and managed the video switcher. He brought his extensive technical skill set to the ministry and enhanced the worship experience for countless people.

Parry’s move to Chicago took him away from his Greek band. Missing the joy that Greek music brought him, he created his own one-man band using the latest technology at the time: the MIDI system. From that came Pericles Productions and two additional CDs, both recorded and master engineered by Parry himself. Parry and Elaine performed together for more than a decade throughout the Midwest. They appeared at Taste of Greece on Halsted Street for ten consecutive years and performed at numerous Greek festivals, dances, weddings, and baptisms before retiring to Florida.

Parry’s favorite pastime was Cleveland sports. He became a Cleveland Indians fan as a young boy, attending games at Municipal Stadium with his father. Baseball remained his favorite sport throughout his life. He also loved the Cleveland Cavaliers and celebrated their 2016 NBA Finals victory. Parry served as president of one of the Cleveland Browns Backers Clubs in Chicago. Despite the Browns never winning a Super Bowl, he loved attending training camp and gathering weekly with fellow fans wherever he lived.

Parry is survived by his wife, Elaine Tsangaris (née Ruff); stepdaughters Melissa Anne Rivera (Tim) of Indian Harbour Beach, FL and Christine M. Shea of Seoul, South Korea; grandson Andrew Rivera; granddaughter Isabelle Rivera; daughter Denise Gray (Kyler); sons Stephen Tsangaris and Paris A. Tsangaris; sister Eugenia Gooding (Tom); brothers-in-law John, Bob, and Bill Ruff, all of Florida; many cousins, most of whom reside in Greece; and nieces and nephews both in the United States and Greece. He was preceded in death by his parents, Stefanos and Helen (née Hunter) Tsangaris.

Visitation will be held on Friday, May 15, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with a Trisagion service at 7:00 p.m., at Pittsburgh Cremation and Funeral Care.

3287 Washington Road, McMurray, PA 15317.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2026, with a viewing at 10:00 a.m. and services beginning at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church.

123 Gilkeson Rd., Pittsburgh PA 15228.

Interment will follow at Jefferson Memorial Cemetery.

401 Curry Hollow Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Bright Hope International, a charity he supported for decades to help people around the world break the cycle of extreme poverty.