LONDON, ONT.—The Greek-Canadian man who said he was the first to put pineapple on pizza has died at the age of 83.

According to an obituary by his family, Sam Panopoulos had been in hospital in London, Ont., when he died suddenly on Thursday.

“He was fiercely loyal, extremely protective, always dependable … extremely funny and generous,” said one of his sons, Bill Panopoulos. “He will be missed incredibly by his family and friends.”

Panopoulos was born in Greece and immigrated in 1954 to Canada, where he and his two brothers operated a number of restaurants.

Bill Panopoulos said his father was a man who saw the horrors of the Second World War, experiences that are unimaginable to the people of today. In spite of seeing the worst in people, he remained kind and generous.

“He is a testament to his parents and his brothers and sister and his wife (Christina) of 50 years,” said Bill, whose parents had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Sunday.

Over the years, he told various media outlets that he made the first Hawaiian pizza in 1962 at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ont., after deciding that chunks of canned pineapple might make a tasty topping.

But his claim to pineapple on pizza isn’t undisputed — some people on some websites suggested the dish was invented in Australia, while others still say it sprang from a German dish of ham, cheese and pineapple on toast.

Bill described his father as a dedicated family man who “wasn’t looking to get famous.”

Panopoulos was in the news in February after Iceland’s president, Guoni Johannesson, caused a minor online furor by pronouncing to some schoolchildren that pineapple did not belong on pizza, suggesting the combination should be banned.

Among those coming to the defence of Hawaiian pizza was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who pledged his support in a tweet.

Panopoulos’s funeral is set for Monday in London.

With files from Hina Alam