Mr. John Nicholas Ostis

Mr. John Nicholas Ostis, recently of Tomball, Texas and previously of Cocoa Beach, Florida, passed away on Friday, July 22, 2022. John was born January 14, 1929 in Thomasville, Georgia. He was 93 years of age.

“Imagine! John, son of Nick, up here in the Himalayas,” laughingly shouted as he paddled on a lake in Kashmir, India. Imagine that journey and so many others, to places equally as far-flung, for projects and pleasure and pilgrimage: from Brazil to Iran, Machu Picchu to the Holy Land, Costa Rica to Aruba & St. Thomas, all over Europe including Greece and Albania, and to his parents’ ancestral Greek villages, Fatsa and Ordu on the Black Sea in Turkey. Imagine, especially, the amount of strength and fortitude needed for such an accomplished life’s journey, beginning from those immigrant roots.

Despite ever terming himself a Depression Baby, being born in the earliest days of 1929 and remembering holding his mother’s hand in food lines, John never allowed early experiences to restrict him—aside from later constantly reminding his children never to waste anything, be it food, clothing or opportunity. He entered the venerable Boston Latin School well before kindergarten age. As the eldest of four sons, direct entry to university wasn’t possible, but enlistment in the Navy led to a subsequent career and degree in Electronics Engineering from Northeastern University, earned while working at M.I.T.’s Lincoln Lab. Cherished photos of him in his cap and gown include young daughters in each arm and a first son on the way. He worked for RCA in Burlington, MA for many years, but finished his career at Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Florida, working on portable air traffic control systems, among other projects.

John sacrificed, commuting hours each day for work at a time when no one else’s father did, and even working for over a year out of state. This took the family from a raucous, four level, extended family home in Boston to the aptly named Play Now, Pay Later Acres in Stoughton on the edge of a pine forest, replete with a well enjoyed swimming pool—and eventually, to two cherished sites on the sea, on West Island, Fairhaven, Massachusetts and Cocoa Beach, Florida. He dedicated much of his life to the Greek Orthodox Church, being married and having a first child baptized at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Boston by then Father Koukouzis, later Archbishop Iakovos, Primate of North and South America. At subsequent churches, John simultaneously served on parish councils, at times as president, sang in the choir, coached basketball teams, and was a youth advisor. He was also a member of AHEPA, of the Fraternal Order of Freemasonry, and of Lion’s Club International.

And along the way, he played, always. Saturday mornings found him in the kitchen, cooking breakfast for the family. Not for him were the blankets under umbrellas with the other grown-ups. Whether in the pool, at Old Orchard Beach in Maine, Nahant in Massachusetts or Indialantic by the Sea in Florida, he was jumping in, down at the shore with the kids, body surfing and building mud castles. With a lifelong, close-knit circle of friends, there was constant celebration, of marriages and births and baptisms and church festivals, with food and drink, with Greek singing and dancing, with sharing and laughter. John’s Name Day celebration was a highlight of the social calendar, despite St. John the Baptist’s feast day falling on January 7. Even with an invariable snowstorm, people came from all over Massachusetts, depositing coats on the bed and boots in the bathtub and partying on. At one point, John and his friend Costa were sitting on the edge of a dance floor at a Greek night-club, resting for just a moment. “Whatever happened to the old men who used to get out on the floor, with a shot-glass, dancing intensely, by themselves, with their eyes closed?” And Costa reminded him, “That’s us, now, John. We’re the old men. It’s our turn.” How lucky they all were, those friends and that extended family, to have had those decades together, to have built those memories.

John was predeceased by his wife of 69 years, Gloria Michaels Ostis; by his parents, Nicholas & Anna Lazarides Ostoposides; and by his brothers, Peter Ostoposides and Sotirios Ostis. He is survived by his brother, Harley Ostis; by his children, Michelle Anna Ostis (Spencer Burton), Nikki (Paul) Makris, Damon (Rhonda) Ostis and Harley (Heather) Ostis; by his grandchildren, Freya Gaertner, Danika (Steve) Wade, Damon (Rachel Williams) Burton, Lianna (Hales) Burton, Allison Ostis, Melanie Ostis, Nikolas Ostis, Parker Ferguson and Jack Ferguson; and by great-grandchildren, Corinne & Genevieve Gaertner; Penelope Wade; and Calliope, Heath, Xanthe and Ozias Burton. He is also survived by many beloved cousins, nieces and nephews, Godchildren, and cherished friends.

A memorial gathering is planned for September, in Massachusetts. If desired, donations in John’s memory may be made to the Salvation Army or to a local charity of the donor’s choice.

May John be given rest among the saints and may his memory be eternal.

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

Forest Park The Woodlands Funeral Home is honored to serve this family.