Antonakis Kyriakides

Dear family, dear friends, and all those who have gathered here today,

We come together with heavy hearts to remember a very special man, Antonakis Kyriakides — a beloved husband, a cherished father, a treasured family member, and a dear friend to many.

Antonakis was born in Larnaca, Cyprus, on the 19th of November 1943. From those early beginnings in Cyprus, a life unfolded that would touch many people and leave behind memories that will remain long after today.

Today, we mourn his passing, but we also give thanks for the life he was given and for the privilege of having known him.

Antonakis passed away peacefully at home on the 8th of April 2026, surrounded by the people who meant the most to him. There is something deeply comforting in knowing that, in his final moments, he was not alone. He was where he belonged — at home, surrounded by his family, held by the love that had been at the centre of his life.

For sixty years, Antonakis shared his life with his beloved wife.

Sixty years of marriage is more than a number. It represents a lifetime of shared experiences — years filled with happiness and difficulty, laughter and tears, celebrations and quiet ordinary days. It represents two people choosing one another, again and again, through all that life brings.

And although today marks a painful separation, sixty years of love cannot simply come to an end. The years they shared remain. The memories remain. The moments, the conversations, the laughter, the sacrifices and the countless little things that made up their life together remain forever.

That is one of the mysteries of love: death can take away someone's presence, but it cannot take away what that person has given us.

Antonakis gave his family something far greater than possessions or material things. He gave them memories. He gave them guidance. He gave them his time, his care and his example.

He understood something that is easy for us to forget in the rush of everyday life — that the greatest things we leave behind are not things at all.

They are the people we have loved.

They are the kindnesses we have shown.

They are the lessons we have passed on.

They are the memories that make us smile even through our tears.

And they are the values that continue through the generations that follow us.

Antonakis was a proud Greek Cypriot, carrying with him the heritage, traditions and values that were such an important part of who he was. But perhaps his greatest identity was simply that of a family man.

To Antonakis, family was never something to be taken for granted. It was something to protect, to nurture and to cherish.

His famous words, “Always love each other,” were not complicated words. Yet perhaps that is precisely why they were so powerful.

Because sometimes the greatest wisdom in life is found in the simplest truths.

Love one another.

Stand beside one another.

Forgive one another.

Look after one another.

And never allow pride, anger or the difficulties of life to become greater than the love that binds a family together.

Antonakis understood this not merely as an idea, but as a way of living.

And now those words have become part of the inheritance he leaves behind.

His family will carry them forward.

His children and grandchildren, his relatives and friends, will remember not only the words themselves, but the man who gave those words meaning.

There will be moments in the future when someone will remember something Antonakis said.

There will be a story told around a table.

There will be a photograph that brings back a particular day.

There will be a familiar expression, a gesture, a memory, or perhaps even a simple moment when someone suddenly thinks, “Antonakis would have loved this.”

Those moments may bring tears, but they are also gifts.

Because remembering someone is another way of keeping their presence alive.

Grief is the price we pay for having loved deeply. And today, there is undoubtedly a great deal of grief in this room.

But beneath that grief is something equally powerful — gratitude.

Gratitude that Antonakis lived.

Gratitude for the years he shared with his wife.

Gratitude for the family he helped build.

Gratitude for the friendships he formed.

Gratitude for every conversation, every smile, every act of generosity and every memory that will now become precious.

We cannot ask why life gives us certain moments and takes others away. We cannot always understand why someone we love must leave us.

But we can choose what we do with the life and love they have left behind.

And Antonakis has left his family a very clear path.

Love one another.

When life becomes difficult, remember him.

When the family gathers, remember him.

When there is something worth celebrating, remember him.

And when someone needs a little kindness, a little patience or a helping hand, remember the example he gave.

In this way, his life does not end with his passing.

It continues through every person he touched.

It continues through his family.

It continues through the values he believed in.

And it continues through the love that remains.

Antonakis may no longer be sitting among you, speaking with you, laughing with you or offering his familiar words of wisdom.

But he has not truly disappeared.

He is present in the stories you tell.

He is present in the memories you carry.

He is present in the family he loved so deeply.

And most importantly, he is present in the hearts of those who were fortunate enough to call him their husband, their father, their grandfather, their brother, their relative, or their friend.

So today, as difficult as this farewell may be, let us not say goodbye only with sadness.

Let us say goodbye with love.

Let us remember a life that mattered.

Let us honour a man who gave his family six decades of companionship and love.

And let us carry forward the message that perhaps says everything Antonakis wanted for the people he loved:

Always love each other.

May his memory be eternal.

May his family find strength in one another.

May the love he gave continue to surround them in the days ahead.

And may Antonakis rest peacefully, knowing that the love he gave during his lifetime will continue to live on in the hearts of those he leaves behind.

May his memory be eternal.

Amen.