Nicholas Philip Christodolus, Sr.

Nicholas P. Christodolus, Sr., 74 of Pensacola went to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on August 7, 2010. Nick "Poppy" was born in the Bronx, New York to Emanuel and Perina Christodolus on November 8, 1935. While a young boy, his family moved to Rosendale, New York and it was there in the lovely Catskill Mountains that he grew up and went to school. Nick joined the Navy in 1956 and after boot camp in Bainbridge, Maryland and P-School in Norman, Oklahoma he was transferred to Millington, Tennessee. There he met and married his beloved wife of almost fifty-four years, Sara Jeanette Christodolus. Duty took them to Quonset Point, Rhode Island where he was attached to VF-32, an anti-submarine squadron. This was during the Cold War with Russia. He had over 3,000 carrier landings in S2F Aircraft chasing submarines. He was a part of the ship's company during the attempted Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba; their next duty station was Brunswick, Georgia where he was a crew member with the helicopter SAR crew. Nick had tours of sea duty aboard the, "USS Lake Champlain" and the, "USS Saratoga." He served in Vietnam as flight engineer in 1968 flying twelve hours every night broadcasting radio and television to the Vietnamese people hoping to influence them to end the war. It was there that he was heavily exposed to the herbicide, "Agent Orange" and from this exposure was diagnosed with ALS in January, 2008. His life was a daily testimony as he patiently endured the effects of this dreaded disease. Nick retired from Saufley Field in Pensacola, Florida. After his Navy career he was a Demolition Contractor. His greatest loves in life were his family, his church and his distribution of Bibles. He was a member of Warrington Baptist Church for forty-one years and served as a deacon for many of those years. He is survived by his wife and care-giver, Jeanette Christodolus, his daughter Karen Montgomery (Mark), son Nicholas Christodolus, Jr., daughter Lori Henderson (Randy), grandchildren, Donnie Wade, Midgie Christodolus, Taylor and Kaitlyn Montgomery and great granddaughter, Scarlett Brooke Adams. When Lori married Randy the circle of grandchildren and great grandchildren increased. (Poppy always stated that his children were wonderful but his grandchildren were perfect.) He is also survived by sisters, Georgia Rarich (Wayne) and Marie Christodolus from Kingston, New York and other nieces and nephews. He was preceeded in death by his parents and sister, Jeanette Koechel. Pallbearers will be Nicholas Christodolus, Jr., Mark Montgomery, Taylor Montgomery, Randy Henderson, Donnie Wade and Randy Gilstrap. Honorary pallbearers will be the deacons of Warrington Baptist Church. The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at Oak Lawn Funeral Home. The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, August 12, 2010 at Warrington Baptist Church with Reverend Larry White officiating. Burial will follow at Barrancas National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Warrington Baptist Church Bible Endowment Fund,The Gideons International or The ALS Foundation. Online condolences maybe sent to www.oaklawnfunerals.com