Peter Stathis

Peter Stathis 1923 - 2012 HOLYOKE - Peter (Pete) Stathis of Alvord Place, South Hadley, and lifelong citizen of Holyoke, passed away on Saturday, July 14. Born in Meriden, CT, to Anna (Phillips) and William Stathis, Pete moved to Holyoke in 1925. He attended Morgan School and Holyoke High School and graduated from Monson Academy before serving in the US Navy from 1943-1946. Pete met and married his beloved wife Mary ("Ree") in the post-war years and together they raised four children. Pete served aboard the Landing Ship Tank (LST) 528 from its shake down cruise through its return to the United States after the end of WWII. He participated in the D-Day invasion and accumulated over 80 English Channel crossings, often at great peril. He never tired of telling family about crossing the North Atlantic on a flat bottom LST filled with ammunition and artillery shells separated from the protection of the escort destroyers and having a large red warning flag off the stern of the ship. After receiving an Honorable Discharge, Pete graduated from Westfield Teachers College and began teaching in the Ludlow School System. He later transferred to the Springfield School System. Along the way, Pete received a Masters Degree in Special Education from Westfield State Teacher's College. He went on to specialize in teaching learning disadvantaged children and was an early advocate of mainstreaming. He retired from the Springfield School System in 1992 with over 40 years experience educating children. Pete was proud to have served on the Holyoke Board of Alderman for nearly 25 years. Winning his first election in 1965, he served as an Alderman At-Large from January 1966 to January 1976. Pete was again elected to his former at large seat in 1978 until retiring in 1991. Pete was often the top vote-getter for many of those Aldermanic elections. Pete was a standout athlete at Holyoke High School and Monson Academy. Later, he was active in youth sports, coaching Boys Club and YMCA youth Basketball as well as PeeWee, Junior and Babe Ruth league Baseball. He was the Junior Varsity basketball coach at Holyoke Catholic High School during the late 1960's. Pete maintained his athletic prowess throughout his life. He was an avid basketball player through his mid-life and was regularly seen on the tennis courts and golf links through his later life. He caught the jogging craze in the early 1970's and completed many St Patrick's Day road races- often finishing last, with only a Holyoke Police cruiser behind him. His retirement years were spent traveling with Mary, enjoying time with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, work outs at the YMCA, learning to do email at the South Hadley Library, and greeting friends at the Elks Club in Holyoke. His beloved wife, Mary M. (Padden) "Ree" Stathis, passed away in January of 2011. He leaves behind his children: daughter Karen of Amherst, sons William of Conway, Peter of Redwood City, CA, and Drew of Fairfax County, VA, and their spouses, Ellen, Taymar, and Julienne. He also leaves his cherished grandchildren, Scott and his wife Carolyn, Erin and her partner James, Christine, Sloane, Mallory and Olivia, and great-grandchildren, Brandon, Joshua, Elijah and Astra. He is survived by his sister Mary Wade of Falmouth and cousin Bess Stathis of South Hadley. The Barry J. Farrell Funeral Home, 2049 Northampton Street, Holyoke is handling funeral arrangements. The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 20, at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 410 Main Street in Holyoke. Prior to the funeral, starting at 10:30, there will be an opportunity to visit with Pete's family at the church. Burial will follow at Forestdale Cemetery, Holyoke. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church or the Holyoke Hospital Development Fund, 575 Beech St., Holyoke or the United Services Organization (USO), P.O. Box 96322, Washington, DC 20090-6322.