Nick Loutsis

Dad spent most of his entire life in the Town of Carnation. As a young boy he built the fires in the pot-bellied stove in the early years of St. Anthony's. He would get here very early in the morning so that the parishioners would be nice and warm.

He also served as an altar-boy in this very church, as well as, receiving his First Communion and Confirmation.

He was a founder of the St. Anthony's Men’s Breakfast and enjoyed participating in that for many years.

Dad worked very hard digging out the dirt under the church's foundation to help build the basement below. So it is, that today we celebrate his life of 95 ½ years in this Holy place.

Dad participated in every sport there was at Tolt High School and received several awards as well as becoming a four-letter player in sports. Shortly after graduating he joined the US Army Air Corps and served his country during WWII. A good portion of that time was spent servicing the planes that needed refueling on the Galapagos Islands and then he also served as a guard on the Miraflores of the Panama Canal.

After the war, he married his beautiful wife Laura. They began their married life together in a little house in back of the Congregational Church. They were blessed with two daughters, Louise and Toni. On December 18, 2004 they celebrated sixty one years of marriage. Laura preceded him in death just three months later.

Mom and Dad always had dogs the entire time they were married. Everyone would always marvel at how well Dad could train them. He had them retrieving specific fishing equipment, opening and closing doors, and even retrieving his daughters. One winter in the late 50's they had a lot of snow and Louise and Toni were taken on the sled by their black lab, Doc, to Carnation Elementary and Doc would return home all by himself with the empty sled. The then popular newspaper, The Post Intelligencer (The PI) found out about it and came out the next day to take pictures and they were on the Front Page.

Dad was a councilman and Mayor of Carnation for 27 years. During that time he made a lot of improvements, such as the roads, sidewalks that he helped to finish the concrete while working on his hands and knees and he got the artesian well that is located in the park which is named after him. He knew the town would grow, but he wanted it to grow gracefully. He did not want it to be bought out by big developers. Dad was noted for his honesty and hard work ethic. During his entire time as Mayor, he refused to be paid. He believed that it was a duty and an honor to serve your community. His last two terms, he was not going to run, but the people of Carnation respected him so much, that they elected him by writing him in.

At the end of his last year as Mayor, he received a special letter of recognition signed by President Ronald Reagan.

I think Dad and Mom, too, will be remembered for their beautiful yard and vegetable garden. Anyone who visited could be assured of leaving with an abundance of the tastiest and freshest vegetables to be had. There were nearly a few almost car wrecks when people drove by just to at look the garden. They were always generous about sharing whatever they could.

Last, but certainly not least, is how Dad will be remembered as being an avid fisherman on the Tolt and Snoqualmie Rivers. He taught so many people how to fish and shared so much of his bounteous catch with his family and friends. He loved the fact that Mom was as good at catching fish as him and felt blessed that she could cook them. He told many stories of her reeling in 25 lb. Steelhead fish in front of men who thought she was just trying to look good on the river. There are still lots of stories going around about how some famous sports magazines wanted to take pictures of him with his fish and how hard he tried to avoid them. He was noted far and wide for his fishing skills. I can now just picture them both in a heavenly place gardening and fishing together.

Nick is survived by his daughter Louise and her husband Dick Jones, daughter Toni and her husband Garth Magee, granddaughters Patricia and Karen, three beloved great-grandchildren, siblings Georgina Leith, Tony Loutsis, and Anna Diner. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Laura Teresa Loutsis, siblings Alex, Sophie, Ashema, Chris, Mary, Johnny, and Josie.

Memorial donations can be made to the Carnation Fire Department, St. Anthony Catholic Church, Carnation, and to Hospice.