Who is Ed Petros

Edward S. Petros was born a naturalized American citizen through his Lebanese parents in Lenbanon on March 15, 1926. He was raised in a large family and lost his father at an early age. He enjoyed summers on their family's property in Rouhmieh, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut Harbor. Ed was always an excellent student, excelling in school through exemplary self-discipline. His early education was spent in a classic one-room school house, learning and solving math problems and spending hours reading ancient Arabic history. After his father's untimely death from Diabetes, Ed's family life was turned upside down. One of Ed's older brothers, George, was always getting into trouble at school. Ed recounts: "George became the meanest kid I'd ever met. He was constantly getting into fights at school and being disrespectful to authorities. He once took an inkwell and splattered it all over one of our professors. I was outraged! I just wanted to do the right thing and get my education."

And yet, George's repeated antics, disobedience and misguided anger had a profound affect, as Ed recounts: "Each time George disobeyed, he would be expelled from school. In turn, we would both be forced to change schools." This happened several times, making Ed's early educational success a very substantial challenge.

Finally, Ed's mother decided to send Ed, then 12, and George to a Boy's boarding school. She was heavily involved in outside activities and felt she could no longer adequately meet the needs of her children without outside intervention.

She had big hopes for Edward. She wanted him to follow in the footsetps of his grandfather's brother, an ordained bishop in Lebanon. She wanted Ed to sudy hard and enter the priesthood. Her hopes for George were to learn self-discipline and begin turning his life around. Ed found no task too difficult to tackle. He kept his nose to the grindstone and was fluent in Arabic and also spoke French. He enjoyed playing "Drapo," a game similar to our version of soccer. He was also a very fast runner!

The first car Ed ever drove was an old rented Model T stick shift. He had saved for weeks to earn enough money to go out cruising! Ed mostly traveled by bicycle or on foot. Then, at age 17, he was drafted into the U.S. Army to fight in World War II. He earned his GED while aboard the ship. He began reading and wrting English while on the USS George Washington Liberty Ship bound for the United States, enroute to fight for a country and whose soil he'd never before stepped foot on before! Learning the English language proved to be his biggest challenge.

On the ship, a man told him that the port authorities in New York would confiscate the roughly $1000 he was carrying, and convinced him to let him hide the money for him. Ed did so, and soon realized that the man had run off with his money--and while he was in the United States, he was also penniless.

Business was still booming at the Phoenicia when the Petros Family began expanding.

4 out of 5 Petros Grandchildren claim the same address as tehir first official residence: 7030 Braddock Road, Annandale, Virginia!

The "Little Green House" that Ed and Marie Petros purchased adjacent to their property on Braddock Road served as the first home for many of the Petros Grandkids. Whenever one of the kids would get upset (especially around bath or dinner time), they'd run away from home by crossing the wooden bridge to Grandma's!

Ed and Marie both loved having all of their grandkids nearby. They always had room for one more grandchild on their laps and it was always difficult to know where the kids were going to turn up next. They would find them in the most unpredictable places: inside kitchen cabinets, stark naked waiting for baths in the Jacuzzi or riding their Big Wheels under Grandma's dining room table!

Grandma's dishtowels held secret powers that could quickly turn them into "Supermen" and "Wonderwomen." If by chance, you were lucky enough to find a stray dishtowel in Grandma's kitchen drawer, odds were you'd also find a safety pin attached to it!

The grandkids loved playing with Ed. They'd grab buckets and rush outside to help Grandpa gather vegetables. Often eating cucumbers straight off the vine, gathering apples and fruits from Grandpa's garden and orchard...and always available for a fresh (famous) garden salad!

That vegetable garden still stands today, and is growing strong....

Danny Thomas kissing the Archbishop's hand...

I met Ed Petros through his daughter, Pixie Monroe. Pixie has always been a tremendous supporter of our Army and our Golden Knights. When Pixie showed me the photo of her Dad and the inscription at the Women's Military Memorial of her Dad as an OSS Veteran, i told her I would very much like to meet him sometime. That encounter did not come too much later. I drove down to have breakfast with Ed at his home, and heard all about how St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital was founded and formed.

Since that day, Ed and I have grown to be the best of friends. Whenever I can make it over to see him over breakfast or dinner, we always have a great time. Here is one of those dinners....

Over the years, Ed and Marie came into contact with numerous dignitaries and celebrities from all corners of the world. Ed and Marie's original association with Atlantic City and the role they both played in rejuvinating the city is one that continues today. While in Atlantic City, Frank Sinatra would frequently sing and make appearances. Here is one of those encounters.

Fundraising for St. Jude's was not easy. Little by little, money started to come in...as a trickle at first. Nonetheless, Danny Thomas and Ed Petros both knew that much more money would be needed to secure large research grants. Ed and Danny both knew that kids were dying every day...many preventable if a children's research hospital like St. Jude's could be created.

After returning to Northern Virginia from Lebanon, Ed and Marie felt compelled to take their commitment to St. Jude's a leap further....

Ed and Marie's old friends, Jack Corry and Karen Henderson, were musicians from Washington, D.C. For years, Jack and Karen urged Ed and Marie to build a club where they could perform. They guaranteed that if Ed and Marie would build a place where they could perform, their band would draw in large crowds and put Arlington, VA on the map. Within a few months, the "Phoenicia Restaurant" opened its doors at 5444 Columbia PIke, in Arlington.

The elegant restaurant seated 282 people and was richly decorated in the rich traditional middle eastern colors of red, black and gold. wishing well for St. Jude was housed in the front lobby to collect spare change from patrons and serve as a constant reminder of their incredible mission.

Danny Thomas kept his personal promise to Ed by making frequent personal appearances to the Phoenicia, to help promote the hospital and establish a strong business base for Ed. Jack COrry and Karen Henderson kept their end of the deal, too. They were then considered among the top performers in Northern Virginia and signed an exclusive contract to perform at the Phoenicia Restaurant six days a week.

Each night, Ed grabbed the microphone, took center stage and encouraged his guests to consider making a donation to St. Jude's. Blending heritages and bridging racial gaps quickly came into play when, the same restaurant that hosted swing dancing on Wednesdays, began offering Middle-Eastern belly dancing on Mondays! The common denominator was fundraising to find cures for sick kids (regardless of race, creed, color or ability to pay) with cancer.