Dean Constantine Pappas

Dean C. Pappas was born in Mani, Konstantinos Karambatos, the son of Anastasios and Faniin 1933. He spent his early life in Kalithea, Athens, Greece. His family fled to Mani for 6months when the Germans invaded Greece. He remembered many instances of the GermanOccupation of Greece and related them to his family. After WW II and during the tragiccivil war in Greece they came to America in 1947 when he was still 13, where they settled inCleveland, Ohio near relatives. He was an avid learner. Probably contributing to this, thefact that schools had been shut down for several years due to the political situation inGreece. He learned English by reading comic books and was a straight A student. He wenton to Case Western Reserve and earned a degree in Civil Engineering. After graduation, hejoined the US Navy as an officer and began Frogman(Navy Seal) training. When his firstassignment was the Great Lakes, he decided he did not like the cold water and as theopportunity arose he changed his focus to become a Naval Aviator. As a Navy Pilot, he flewreconnaissance missions over the North Atlantic during the Cold War looking for Russiansubmarines. Later as a reservist he was called back to fly reconnaissance missions duringthe Missile Crisis where he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay. During his time in the militaryhe was stationed in Hutchinson, Kansas where he met his lovely wife Joyce. They weremarried in 1958 and have 3 daughters and one son who was lost in 1964 after a flu vaccine.After separating from the military, Dean joined the Army Corps of Engineers and served onthe River and Harbour Board. He went on the earn a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering atUC Berkeley. The family spent several years relocating between Walnut Creek, Californiaand Springfield, Virginia until finally settling down in Springfield in 1967. He spent manyyears trying to approve good projects for USACE until taking an early retirement due toheart problems in 1986. He then moved on, partnering with his wife and family, to having asuccessful cleaning business for over 15 years. He pursued many other business venturesuntil his parting.He was active at St. Sophia and loved singing in the choir. He especially enjoyed singingunder Psalti Harilaos Papapoustolou. He had a love for gardening and created an amazinggarden which he enjoyed tending himself until this year. Dean loved philosophicalconversations and had a great depth of appreciation for every facet of details on a variety oftopics.He is survived by his wife, Joyce, of 64 years, three daughters, Melissa, Daphne and Tasia,ten grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.