William Andrew Pippas

William Andrew Pippas passed away on December 17th, 2020 at the age of 90 with his family by his side. He was born January 20th, 1930, to Panagoula Dedes Pippas and Andreas Vasilios Pippas in Koutsapodi, Argolis, Greece. He was also the youngest of three sons with his brothers, Georgos and Stavros preceding him in death.

Growing up, Bill enjoyed playing soccer and was the captain of his local team. He worked on a 160-year-old farm run by his father. Here, they grew olives, apricots, oranges, and tobacco amongst other goods, which instilled a love of gardening in him that he would go on to practice throughout his life. After graduating high school in Argos, where he excelled academically, he attended the University of Athens Law School, where he graduated with honors and received a juris doctorate of law degree. He subsequently served with distinction in the Greek Army for two years after World War II. He practiced law briefly before he went to Chicago in 1956 to study English and American History. He wanted to remain in the United States and he began a long distance relationship with Kula Poulos, a woman from Salt Lake City with whom he had met two years earlier in her travels to Greece. He moved to Salt Lake City and married her in 1959, and remained devoted to her until his death. Bill worked for several industries including Kennecott and Litton in Salt Lake City, ultimately working as a department supervisor for EIMCO, where he later retired at age 62.

His interests included spending time with his family, fishing with his children in the streams and rivers of Northern Utah, gardening in the summer, reading his daily newspaper, keeping up with the stock market, and spending time with friends and family over a cup of Greek coffee. He was also an active member of the Greek Orthodox church and community of Salt Lake City. He was the admissions chairman of the Greek Festival for over 40 years, and taught in the Greek language school for decades, where he was known for being a genial and gentlemanly instructor.

Bill is survived by his wife of 62 years, his children, their spouses and grandchildren: Andrew and Janette Pippas (Gabriel, Ellie, and Grace) of Columbus, Georgia, William Pippas (William and Christina) of Salt Lake City, John and Kristi Pippas (Alec and Helena) of Mission Viejo, California, and Frank and Patricia Barton (Matthew and Alexis) of Salt Lake City. He’s also survived by many nieces and nephews in the United States and Greece.

We will miss his generosity, honesty, undeniable strength, steadfast devotion to his family, and his witty sense of humor. He leaves behind a legacy of perseverance, honor, resilience, and gratitude (and one mean Kapama recipe). He always made it a point to help those less fortunate than he was, and he created the greatest example of not only the perfect gentleman, but also the most amazing father, husband, brother, uncle, friend, and papou that anyone could’ve asked for. He taught us about life, love, the meaning and value of hardwork, but most of all, the importance and sacredness of family. We will miss him dearly, and we will keep him with us wherever we go and in all we do. May his memory be eternal.

We would also like to thank his niece, ToniMae Dwyer, the Right At Home caregivers, and Areli Padilla for their diligent care and support of Bill and his wife.

In light of current health concerns, an immediate family-only service will be held at Prophet Elias Church and at Mount Olivet Cemetery on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020. In lieu of flowers, donations should be directed to the Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church, the general scholarship fund of the University of Utah, Philoptochos Society of Greater Salt Lake, or to a charity of your choice in his honor.

The service will be a private service, those who may want to view it can do so on the following website:

gocslc.com/live-stream