Marcos Galanis: ‘A man of Pietermaritzburg’
Nicky and Lefteri Galanis have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support following the death of their beloved husband and father, Marco.
“It’s been incredible,” Lefteri, aka Marco Junior, told Maritzburg Sun. “I thought I knew what love felt like, but I had no idea. It has made his passing a celebration of his life.”
Marco and Nicky were the team which made Marco’s Jewellers an iconic part of the Pietermaritzburg business landscape.
“Mum and Marco started their business in 1982 in Witness Lane, in a double garage with no ceiling,” Lefteri said. “They had lots of energy and great hopes and dreams for their little business.”
Those hopes grew when the couple took over Sates Jewellers in Church Street in 1986.
The store was owned by Maritzburg’s gold medal-winning swimmer, Matt Sates’ grandfather, EW Sates, at the time.
Born in Athens, Greece, Marco completed a course in goldsmithing at the city’s goldsmithing school at the age of 14.
The talented young jeweller then left his home and family and moved to Kenya where he got into gemstones, learning how they were mined and cut to create high quality jewellery.
In 1977, Marco moved from Kenya to South Africa, settling in Pietermaritzburg.
He and Nicky got together on her 20th birthday in 1980, marrying in 1983. Lefteri was born a year later.
In 1994, the couple moved to new premises in the Hayfields Mall, remaining there for the next 15 years. The business then moved to its current home at Parklane.
Marco and Lefteri worked side-by-side in the workshop, while Nicky liaised with their customers.
Together they created a business founded on loyalty and respect.
Marco demonstrated this in 2002 when he was able to reunite his friend and client, Nico du Plooy, with a ring he had made for him – 20 years after it was reported stolen.
Lefteri said of his father: “He was a man of Pietermaritzburg. This was his town and he had a lot of pride in Pietermaritzburg. He wanted Pietermaritzburg to prosper and grow and he wanted business to stay in the city.
“He would get so upset if I employed a contractor from outside of Pietermaritzburg. He always supported his people and, in turn, he had their support.”
In recent years, Marco and Nicky reconnected with his Greek family, even building a home on land owned by his grandfather on the island of Aegina.
“For dad to go back and reconnect was such a pilgrimage for him,” Lefteri said, adding that his father had been proud to say that his only son was back home running his legacy.
Marco’s death has left a huge void in the lives of his family, friends and clients, but Nicky and Lefteri have vowed to keep his iconic business, which celebrates its 40th anniversary next year, going.