Spero Theofilatos of Jupiter, Fla., who was a nationally-ranked Greco-Roman wrestler in the 1980s, died at the age of 50 in a plane crash in California on Saturday, October 24.

He was a passenger in a single engine plane which crashed near Lake Matthews, south of Riverside, Calif. The pilot of the plane, Timothy Richard Larson, 41, of Moreno Valley, Calif., was also killed. 

Theofilatos wrestled for many years for the Adirondack Three-Style Wrestling Association in his hometown area of Albany, N.Y. He competed nationally at 62 kg/136.5 lbs. and was a six-time national All-American in Greco-Roman.

He was a graduate of Albany High School in 1978. He first attended SUNY-Brockport, then transferred to SUNY-Albany, where he was a Div. III All-American, placing eighth at 134 pounds in 1982.

“He was an outstanding wrestler, and he was a terrific guy,” said Joe DeMeo, who served as both his college coach and Greco-Roman coach. “He was a great father. He was very successful – a commercial pilot. It is really sad. He turned out to be such a wonderful guy. Wrestling has lost a great person.”

Two-time Olympian Shawn Sheldon, his teammate with the ATWA club, remained close with Spero, as they both lived in the same community in Florida.

“It was shocking to me,” said Sheldon. “He was the greatest guy ever. He was my best friend down here. He’d help anybody who needed help.”

In recent years, Theofilatos has served as a volunteer wrestling coach at Jupiter Christian High School in Florida. 

Arrangements have not yet been announced, but will be shared when available. TheMat.com will also post an official obituary when it published.

An online guestbook has been established through the Palm Beach Post newspaper. Those who wish to make a posting in the guestbook should visit:
http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/palmbeachpost/guestbook.aspx?n=spero-theofilatos&pid=146246785&cid=view

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