Nov 7, 2022 6 min read

Manuel Pihakis, a lifelong Canonsburg resident who dedicated his life to his hometown, and a wrestling giant who won three PIAA titles from 1950-52, passed away Saturday at the age of 89.

He leaves a rich legacy of accomplishments and an indelible imprint on the community he loved.

Pihakis, or “Buns” as he was affectionally known, was a teacher, athletic director, and long-time serving school board member at Canon-McMillan.

A member of All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Canonsburg, Pihakis was named an Archon of the Order of St. Andrew of Orthodox Church, the highest honor a layman in the Orthodox Church may achieve.

“He was a man larger than life in the community and in church. He was always (at church) with a smile to greet you and welcome you, whether you were a member or a visitor, and that will be sorely missed,” said Fr. George Athanasiou, Presbyter at All Saints Church. “He was dedicated to the church and to Canonsburg.”

Pete Moniodes, president of the Canon-McMillan School Board and a member of All Saints Church, has been lifelong friends with Pihakis’ sons, Michael and George, and has known Pihakis for most of his life.

“He has been a mentor to me. He taught me a lot about church and he taught me a lot about being on the school board. He was somebody I’ve learned a lot from,” said Moniodes. “He was a great guy who lived a great live and has a great family that meant everything to him. I always looked up to him over the years. Everybody on the board looked up to him and respected him, his experience, and what he brings to the board. He will be sadly missed by all of us.”

Pihakis also served as mayor of Canonsburg and served on several boards, including as president of the board of trustees of the Frank Sarris Public Library.

“He was proud of the community. He was a pillar of the community, and he wanted to see good things happen in Canonsburg and Canon-McMillan. He bled blue and gold. He just wanted to see the community advance and grow, to see good things happen here,” said Moniodes.

A 1952 graduate of Canon-McMillan High School, Pihakis amassed a 99-1 record and went on to an outstanding career at Indiana University, where he compiled a 56-8 record and was a Big 10 Conference runner-up. He participated in final Olympic Tryouts in 1952 and 1956.

Pihakis is a member of numerous Hall of Fames, including the Pittsburgh Sports Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, and Washington-Greene Co. Chapter Hall of Fame.

Pihakis organized the District 7 WPIAL Tri-County Athletic Directors Association, is a founding committee member of the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic and was named Pennsylvania State Athletic Director Association Athletic Director of the Year.

He was inducted to the Canon-McMillan Hall of Honor in 2008.

In 2000, Pihakis was instrumental in hiring wrestling coach Chris Mary, who led the Big Macs to unprecedented success, including 12 section titles, four WPIAL team tournament titles, three PIAA team titles and two PIAA individual titles.

Mary was shaken by Pihakis’ passing.

“I truly loved and admired and respected him,” said Mary. “Even as a young wrestler at Chartiers-Houston, everybody looked up to Manuel “Buns” Pihakis. He did so much for me as a coach and a mentor, and he always told me he believed in me. He gave so much to our sport, and he gave back so much to Canon-McMillan and Canonsburg. He was a man who was a giver. He gave to school, to church, to his family. I loved being around him. He was always smiling, always so positive. There will never be another one like Manuel Pihakis. When he walked into a room, he lit it up.”

When Mary decided to step away from coaching in 2013 to focus on his growing family, Pihakis – who celebrated his 64th anniversary with his wife, Dolly, in August – supported his decision.

“Family meant everything to him. He just lit up when he talked about his grandkids and great-grandkids,” said Mary. “He was committed to his family at all levels.”

Pihakis’s nephew, Mike Kusturiss, who regularly enjoyed breakfast with his uncle, said Pihakis loved the church and loved to help others. He also noted Pihakis’ colorful fashion sense.

“Like his father before him, he served the church his whole life. Every Sunday, you’d see him smiling, in the back of the church, in a colorful outfit – pink shirt one day, lime green outfit another day. He had a bold fashion sense,” said Kusturiss. “One of his biggest qualities was his love to help others. He’d go out of his way to help a kid get in a college. He’d call a doctor he knew to get an appointment for someone. Things like this made him special.”

Canonsburg Police Chief Alex Coghill, also remembered Pihakis fondly.

“Buns was involved in everything. If you lived in Canonsburg, somehow your life was touched by him. He was truly a great community leader. I would venture to say almost every generation living in the Canonsburg area was in some way impacted by his service.”

Athanasiou said Pihakis taught him how to find a healthy balance in life.

“He was a man of God, family and community, and he found a way to do it all. He had a healthy balance,” said Athanasiou. “Those values did not compete against each other, they were equally important. That is the biggest lesson he can teach all of us.”

Mayor David Rhome said Pihakis was always quick to help and to answer any questions Rhome had when he was elected as mayor 13 years ago.

“I found him to be a leader in town in many roles, as an educator, athletic director, mayor, and school board member, but the most important thing I observed was that he was a servant of his church,” said Rhome. “He had a passion for his faith and a passion for people. He did the things he did because he cared about them.”

Athanasiou said Pihakis did everything he could to help people succeed.

“In a day and age where kids have so many people they look up to – celebrities, media influencers – (Pihakis’) is the generation of people they need to look up to as heroes because they have set firm foundations of family, faith and community for us,” said Athanasiou. “He’s one of the true heroes, not because of fame or influence, but because he was a hard-working man with and open heart, hospitality and generosity.”