Panayiotis (Pete) S. Pappas

Pete Pappas passed away peacefully at his home at the age of 99. He was born in Kastellorizo, Greece. Survived by his devoted son Steven Pappas and his wife Leanne Pappas & grandchildren Peter Pappas, Kristie and her husband Tony Ajlouny and great granddaughters Gianna and Angelina Ajlouny. Nieces Joyce Whited (Eugene Whited) and Judie Richardson-Loveless (Phil Loveless) as well as many other nieces and nephews in U.S. & Greece. The Trisagion and Funeral Service will be held at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 1260 Davis St., San Jose. The Trisagion will be held on Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 7:00 P.M. The Funeral Service will be held on Monday, March 14, 2016 at 11:30 A.M. followed by Interment at Mission City Memorial Park, 420 N. Winchester Blvd., Santa Clara.

To view additional photos please use this link: peterpappas.smugmug.com/memory/

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the St. Nicholas Church Building Fund.

My fathers Early Life Events and work history:

This is a summary of events included specific first hand information from my father Peter Pappas concerning the tragic effects and events of World War II on his Birth Island of Kastellorizo Greece in the Mediterranean.

Chronology of events

- 1917 Father was born on the island Jan 29th His mother died during childbirth and his father shortly after. He was one of 6 sons and now a orphan.

- 1921 Island occupied by Italy

- 1941 British assault on island

- 1943, Sept 8th Italy surrendered to the Allies

- 1943, Sept 10th British troops seized island

- 1943, Sept 17th Germans began air raids and started to gain control of islands one by one.

- 1943, Oct. German bombs rained on Island. This caused English to evacuate the islands. They evacuated until only a hand full of Islands still under British control. Kastellorizo was one of them.

- 1943, Oct 17th & 18th. Severe Aerial bombardments and an increase of fighting for Islands by the Germans. Fighting severe on 20th and the British decided to evacuate the entire population of the islands to the Middle East.

- 1943, Oct 23rd & 26th. Approx. 1000 civilians were evacuated to Cyprus. Dad was included.

- 1943, Nov 20th.The Germans had regained control of every single island except Kasterllorizo

- 1943, Nov 27th. British evacuated their garrison leaving only 50 men for deception purposes and possible future operations. The island remained in British control as the Germans decided not to mount a navel offensive. During this time the looting of the island by the British and Indian troops was extensive. Anything left was stolen or destroyed.

- 1944, Jan 4th. Civilians transferred to United Nations Relief & Rehabilitation Camps at Atlee, one hour drive from Gaza in Palestine. They were there to remain until Sept 1945 with 14,000 other refugees from the Dodecanese islands of Samos etc. Dad included. Dad said many Jewish arrived daily and were added to the camps.

- 1944, July. A severe fire broke out in town and an ammunition dump exploded. The fire and explosion resulted in the destruction of 1/3 of town. The islands homes were reduced to ½ of the previous amount prior to the British seizure of island.

- 1945, May. Germans surrendered and the end of the World War II. The British began preparation to return the Kastellorizians to their home.

- 1945, Sept 29th. One of three ships a British Vessel “Empire Patrol” formerly a Italian ship taken during surrender of Italy was used to transport the refugees back to their island. The ship caught on fire during the trip and went down in the open sea. This was categorized as The Empire Patrol Disaster of 1945, (Dad was 28 yr. Old). Dads Godmother, Sister-in-law and many friends were on board. My fathers Sister-in-law (Christina Papoutsi) was a critical part of the mystery of how the fire on board was started. The fire was believed to be started by a primus stove illegal used to warm milk. The fire started in the shared cabin of Christina. A total of 35 lives were lost of which 33 were Kasellorizo refugees. Of the lost lives 14 were eight years old or less. Many others were elderly women.

- 1945, Oct. After the accident refugees were taken to El-Shatt in Palestine for rest and rehabilitation. Many never returned to the Island and migrated to other countries. This

event contributed to the large migration of over 80% of Kastellorizians to Australia.

Lived for two years in a refugee camp in Nuseirat, in Gaza.

Upon arrival all refugees were given numbered tags to wear around their neck.

Camps in Gaza consisted of tin roofed huts and canvas tents. The camp was divided into four sections and separated by miles of sand dunes. Three or four families lived in each hut and were segregated by blanket partitions. They used communal kitchens to cook their food and had a school, church and small hospital.

Refugees quickly adjusted to camp life and created make shift canteens, coffee shops, cinemas and work places. Even a garment factory was produced with British support of sewing machines.

Dad worked in the kitchen and when the War ended he was still needed to work the kitchen until all of the refugees were relocated. The British placed him on the last ship back to the island.

DADS WORK HISTORY

1. Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. Worked and slept on campus. Worked in the kitchen and also did carpentry work on campus - Late 1940’s

2. Libby’s Cannery, Sunnyvale, Calif . Handyman - Late 1940’s

3. Odd fellows Home, Saratoga, Calif. Carpenter - Early1950’s

4. Pacific M.F.C., 2690 The Alameda, Santa Clara, Calif. Started June 1952 to 1960 until they went out of business. Made custom doors, windows and cabinets.

5. Southern Pacific Railroad, Newhall St. San Jose, Calif Started 1960 worked 2 months temporary as a flagman until he was hired as a carpenter at Pemline.

6. Pemline M.F.G. 2690 the Alameda, Santa Clara, Calif. Started June 1960 to Feb. 1968 employment ended when company moved to Nevada. Carpenter making custom cabinets.

7. Jean Bean Division FMC, 1115 Coleman Ave., San Jose, Calif Started April 1968 to August 1968. Custom fabrication for Military Tanks..

8. Morris Burman Cabinet Shop, Inc., 864 McGlincey Ln, Campbell, Calif. Started April 1969 to Oct. 1974. Custom cabinets and doors.

9. Bob’s Cabinet Shop (Morris Burman co-worker quit & opened his own shop with dads help to get it started ) 4520 Sherbourne Dr., San Jose, CA Started Feb 1974 to March 1975.

10. Viking Materials 1060 So. 5th St., San Jose, CA Started Aug 1976 to 1984. Made Custom doors. Retired from Carpenter’s Union 1984

Self Employed additional business history while still working fulltime.

11. Worked at American Savings & Loan Downtown San Jose. 1960 to 1970. Janitorial Service 10 year business contract. (At this time Dad met and partnered with bank branch manager and Joe Ferrari to start fixing and flipping properties) Opened his own cabinet shop to make custom cabinets, doors and windows for private clients as well as property business.

12. Dad retired in the early 1980’s from the carpentry trade but he never stopped working as he then actively worked for many years at his beloved Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church up until 2013 and the age of 96 years old. Dad also was a correspondent for the KASTELLORIZIAKA NEA from California America and wrote numerous articles over the years for this newspaper.

Beautiful Obituary from his beloved Church:

Hi Church School Parents and Grandparents,

I would be remiss if I didn’t start this update by saying something about Pete Pappas’ passing. Although small in stature, Pete was a giant to us. Part of his legacy is in every single one of our classrooms. He was responsible for making every icon stand, cabinet, bookshelf and cupboard. He lovingly built the library shelves and the credenza we use every Sunday in our office. His Byzantine mosaic table won first place and is located in the 12th grade classroom. Just look under or behind each piece and you will see his classic signature and date.

Pete loved the church school staff and students. He was constantly bringing us new items he thought we could use. When he discovered the Oriental Trading web site, he was like a kid in the candy shop! Every few months, he would visit our office with his well worn catalog pages folded over showing us what he had ordered for our school. His grin reached from ear to ear. He bought us everything from new markers to Sponge Bob book covers.

The Lenten period was his favorite time of year. He would order our palms for the palm crosses and the tall palms for the 5th graders to hold in church. We would share setting the hall up. He would work on separating the flowers for the epitaphios, and I would set up for the retreat. I would position a table and he would move it and laugh. He was responsible for the little myrrh bearers flowered baskets and made sure they always had plenty of petals to put in them. Many of the office icons were given by him because he knew we would use them and care about them as he did.

We will miss Pete, but he will always remain a part of the St. Nicholas Church School family. May his memory be eternal.

Dad passed away March 6th, 2016 at the age of 99 and is now reunited with my Mom who passed away one year prior. I will forever love them both and may their memory be enternal!