Jim Samios: Tributes flow for Warwick business icon, community leader

‘I will be lost without him’: Loved ones of treasured family man and Rose City legend Jim Samios have remembered him for his kindness, generosity, and tireless dedication to the community.

I'm in a good position because I've been here for so long. If I had to open again with a lease or mortgage I wouldn't last. - Jim Samios, Samios Mini Mart

Tributes have flowed from across the Rose City following the death of business icon and community leader Jim Samios, who is being remembered for his kindness and generous spirit towards all those who knew him.

Mr Samios died in hospital on Monday aged 88, after a short battle with bowel cancer.

The successful businessman first immigrated to Australia from Greece in 1951, and wasted little time in taking up the family mantle at the helm of Warwick’s iconic Belle Vue Cafe in 1956.

Jim Samios

He ran the beloved Greek cafe for a quarter of a century before establishing his second Palmerin St business in Samios Mini Mart, which has become another Warwick mainstay in the 40 years since it first opened its doors to residents.

Mr Samios was known as much for his dedication to community organisations as he was for his business prowess, devoting 40 years and three terms as president to The Lions Club of Warwick and working closely with school groups such as Warwick Community Kindergarten and the Warwick East State School P and C.

He was also heavily involved with the former Warwick Skillshare organisation and the Warwick RSL Memorial Club, spending 20 years as president and on the board of directors of each group respectively, and in 2004 received a Medal of the Order of Australia for his contributions to the community.

Heartbroken son George Samios described his beloved dad as a kind and generous man who loved to laugh, and was always there to support his family and friends regardless of his many other commitments.

He said his dad was always proud of his Greek heritage and instilled that pride and love of their culture in his children, remaining in close contact with his siblings and extended family in between trips back to his homeland.

“He was the best father in the world,” George said.

“He loved to have all the dinner parties and he was a real social butterfly. He loved cooking Greek food for everyone, and he would always say, ‘When can we have the next one?’.”

Outside of his business and work within the community, George said his dad loved gardening and often receive compliments from passers-by on his magnificent rose bushes.

“He was a great gardener, and he especially loved roses,” he said.

“He used to bring in roses for the shop when they were in bloom so we could have them on the counter.”

After more than three decades as a member of the tight-knit team at Samios Mini Mart, Taryn Fitzgerald said Mr Samios was like a second father to her and had always treated her as one of his own.

“He used to call me his adopted daughter,” she said.

“He just meant the world to me – I will be lost without him.

“The shop was very much his life and he didn’t want to retire, even through to the very end. He always said, ‘What am I going to do at home? I’ll go mad at home!’.”

Warwick business icon Jim Samios loved returning to his family home in Greece. Photo: contributed

Mrs Fitzgerald said her fondest memories with Mr Samios included their daily phone calls to check in and share a sip of scotch with one another each afternoon, and being able to visit his family home in Greece with her husband in 2015.

“He was very generous, and not just with money, but with kindness,” she said.

“He would do without and would rather give to others than himself.”

Mr Samios’ decades of success and community achievements saw him immortalised in the Legends Laneway beside Warwick Town Hall in 2019, joining fellow business icons such as the late Graham Buchner and Danny Lyons.

Mr Lyons said the loss of his fellow businessman’s leadership and warm presence in Warwick would be felt greatly.

“He’s been a stalwart of the community for many years. He was a great icon of business in Warwick, and he did a lot of good in our community,” he said.

“He was a good businessman with good morals and a good family man, and no doubt he would have helped and supported a lot of people throughout his lifetime here.”

While Samios Mini Mart will likely remain synonymous with the memory of the man who established it for years to come, son George said there would be no question of closing its doors.

“We’ve got to keep it running to honour him, now,” he said.

Mr Samios is survived by his children George and Katrina, their respective partners Therese and Phillip, his grandchild Chrysanthe, and extended family and friends in both Queensland and Greece.

He will be farewelled with a Greek Orthodox funeral service on Friday, August 19 from 10am at St Mark’s Anglican Church, followed by an internment at Warwick Lawn Cemetery.

His family asks that donations be made to Cancer Council Queensland in lieu of flowers, with envelopes to be available at the service.