Constantinos Philippides

Constantinos Philippides died on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at the Assisted Living center “The Woods at Cedar Run,” Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He is survived by his daughters, Adele Philippides and Evie Williams, and his four grandchildren, Joshua Williams, Caleb Williams, Phoebe Mock, and Calandra Mock., as well as his older sister, Ritsa Vasiliades and her two children, Yiannis Vasiliades and Katerina Vasiliades.

Born in Athens, Greece in 1932, his life was marked by periods of tragedy that never fully left him throughout his life, in spite of being able to persevere though the difficulties. He lost his father, Adam Philippides, at a very young age, and was raised under the loving care of his mother Evanthia, Grandmother Ekaterini, and older sister Ritsa. He was only 9 years old when World War II struck Athens, unleashing violence, starvation, and uncertainty on the country, but with the careful planning and watchfulness of these three amazing women, they were able to survive and hold together through the war, as well as the Communist war that followed it. He learned to be a careful and thrifty child, raising rabbits and produce in the backyard to feed the family, fixing the plumbing as pipe after pipe deteriorated, and otherwise helping to advance the family through times of need. As the wars ended and things improved, he found an attraction to building and designing things – something that had started as a very young boy when he made cars from cardboard and pins from his mother’s sewing basket, but advanced as he grew to fixing and repairing more complicated things around the house. One of the defining moments in his life was when an electrician had left some wires exposed in his home, he was drawn to them and reached in to examine them, receiving a powerful shock that rendered him unconscious. Instead of fearing and avoiding electricity, however, he was amazed and awed by it, and decided he wanted to make working with electrical devices his life’s work (although also with an appropriate amount of respect).

Despair of reaching that goal started to set in as he failed to gain acceptance into any Greek programs after high school had finished. At roughly the same time, he received a draft notice in the mail for the U.S. Army for the Korean War. It was a stunning letter to receive, for up until that time he had no idea that his father, as an American citizen himself, had given himself and his sister citizenship as well. With the decision weighing heavily on him, he responded to the draft and enlisted in the U.S. Army.

He was lucky, as by the time he had sorted out his foreign status with the Army and progressed through boot camp, the war in Korea was winding down, and he was not sent to Korea but to Canada to work on Fort Churchhill, a new base that would be focused on atmospheric research. After serving his time in the army, he used the G.I. Bill to attend the University of Maryland, getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics Engineering and meeting his wife-to-be Judith Krusé, whom he married in 1964. Happy times followed in which they had two daughters, moved to a home they designed themselves in Columbia, MD, earned his Master’s Degree in Computer Science, and most importantly found himself working in his dream job at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. It was here that he refined his engineering specialty into radar work, creating three patented advancements in radar design and landing a position on the team that developed and designed the original Aegis combat system for the U.S. Navy.

He retired from APL in 1999 to spend time with his wife, travelling frequently to his homeland Greece as well across the states to visit with friends and family. There were several exotic trips as well, but always his focus was on his family and friends, and he was fortunate to have a wonderful network of relationships. This became his lifeline as he watched my mother deteriorate with the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s – he always supported her and was able to attain the goal of keeping her in their home throughout her life, but was fortunate to have the help of friends and neighbors during this difficult time. Making sure that she was comfortable, happy, and safe became his life’s purpose. After her death in 2022, his heart was broken and overwhelming sadness consumed him. His health and mental wellbeing declined. When a fall resulted in restrictions to his mobility, he moved to an Assisted Living near to his daughter in Pennsylvania, and it was here where he spent his last days, still mourning her. He will be buried with her at the Columbia Memorial Park Cemetery in Clarksville, MD.

A visitation will be held Thursday, July 6, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 2815 36th St. NW, Washington, DC 20007, where a funeral service will begin at 11:00AM. Interment will follow at Columbia Memorial Park, 12005 Clarksville Pike, Clarksville, MD 21029.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.witzkefuneralhomes.com for the Philippides family.