John S. Kaldes

John S. Kaldes, age 76, fell asleep in the Lord on Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in 1949 in Plagia, Mytilini, Greece, he was the son of the late Socrates and Venetia (née Politis) Kaldes. He immigrated to the United States in 1974 and lived in New York, Pennsylvania, and the United Kingdom before settling in Ringoes, New Jersey twenty-one years ago.

While in Greece, John served his homeland with honor as a second lieutenant in the Greek Army. He pursued a career in engineering, working for several global pharmaceutical companies before retiring three years ago. Deeply devoted to his faith, he played a key role in helping to establish St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church in Flemington, New Jersey, where he remained an active parishioner and served as president of the Parish Council for thirteen years. He generously volunteered and cooked each year at the church’s Flemington Opa! Greek Festival. An entrepreneur at heart, John co-founded the specialty food business Kaldi with his sons. His lifelong passion for cooking culminated in the creation of his own cookbook, Made In Greece: A guided tour of Greek cooking.

John is survived and will be profoundly missed by his beloved wife of fifty-one years, Zoi (née Konstantinidis) Kaldes, with whom he joined hands in Holy Matrimony on January 12, 1975; his loving sons, Peter Kaldes and his partner Gregges Burges of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Gregory Kaldes and his wife Roseanna of Weston, Connecticut; and his two cherished grandchildren, Despina and Zoe.