George Soulakis, Jr. Obituary

George Soulakis, Jr. of Mission Viejo passed away peacefully June 6, 2025 at home surrounded by his family. Born on January 11, 1936, George was a Pasadena native who served in the US Navy on the destroyer USS Colahan (DD-658) and later graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a mechanical engineering degree.

George, his twin sister, Julie, and their older brothers (Louis and Edison) and sister (Thalia) attended Jefferson Elementary and George Ellery Hale Schools before graduating from Pasadena High School. Their mother, Stella, came to the US from Mytilene, Greece. Stella organized the first meetings of the Greek Orthodox church in Pasadena where she was a community leader and made many strong friendships. Their father, George Helias, was a haberdasher from Ayvalik, Turkey and owned the London Hat Store located on E. Colorado Blvd.

George married his first wife, Diana Davis, in 1968 and had their sons Derek and Damon while living in Hermosa Beach.

A gifted designer and engineer, George worked for Mattel Toys in El Segundo and later was promoted to VP of Orient Development. He is best known for designing Sizzlers in 1970, which he created to be "Hot Wheel scale electrified motor cars". To make the World's Fastest Electric Cars run, George went to General Electric to have a special battery made and they came up with the first rechargeable nickel cadmium battery. In 1972, he suggested to Mattel to use the Tampoprint process to smoothly apply graphics on the surface of Hot Wheels, which gave them more style and flash. George holds over 30 patents throughout his career including mechanisms he designed to launch toy cars and give their wheels sound, toy car remote control driving, and a helical racetrack system.

George married his second wife, Judy Mendonsa, in 1989. Together they enjoyed living abroad in Hong Kong and Malaysia, traveling, and golfing. George and Judy made a beautiful life and home in Mission Viejo after his retirement in 2000. George had quite a green thumb and is responsible for their many flowers, trees, and plants. Always the engineer, he holds a patent on a redesigned sprinkler assembly.

George is survived by his loving wife, Judy, sons, Derek and Damon, and his grandson, Donovan Soulakis including Judy's sons, Tim & Brian and their children Tyler, Jasmine, Megan, and Evan. His beloved sister Julie's daughters Colleen and Kelly and their families reside in Minnesota.

George will be laid to rest in the family plot at Mountain View cemetery in Altadena, CA on June 21, 2025.