Tallahassee Florida Extreme Makeover father dies before stepping into house

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The Kadzis family says goodbye to loved one

By Angeline J. Taylor • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER • March 7, 2009

Tallahassee's George Kadzis was the man with the big hands and an even bigger heart.
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That's what his brother Joseph Kadzis of Houston said. And it was a sentiment that echoed throughout Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church on Friday morning during George Kadzis' funeral.

Kadzis, 56, died Monday morning — barely 48 hours after his family moved into a new home courtesy of the ABC television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." His battle against brain cancer ended after a little more than three months. It was the second time the disease struck George, a dentist with the Florida Department of Corrections. He first beat brain cancer in 2005.

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In his last days, his family was on his mind. His family was chosen among five finalists by ABC officials for the TV show. Barbara Kadzis, George's wife, had to hospitalize him a day before the show's host Ty Pennington knocked on the family's front door to tell them they were chosen.

Barbara Kadzis said the selection was bittersweet. She didn't think his condition was life-threatening at that point. But George didn't get a chance to step into the new house. Friends who attended his funeral say he talked about the house while at the hospital. One said he woke up and said, "You know it has six bedrooms?"

Funeral-home officials drove the hearse to the new Kadzis house on Queen Anna Drive as the family rode behind in two other cars.

"He wanted his family to have a safe home, and, in the end, that's what he got," said Julie Roberts, president of JKR Consulting, who worked with the family and the show.

George and Barbara Kadzis adopted six children from China. They had one biological son and three other adult children of Barbara's from a previous marriage.

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090307/NEWS01/903070324/1010

I hope the family can keep the house!