Christopher Protopapas

1916 - 2009

Christopher Protopapas 1916 – 2009 Christopher Protopapas, fondly known as the Gorgeous Greek, went to sleep for the last time on July 14, 2009. He lived a wonderful 93 years, filled with the love of countless relations and friends, and rich life experiences, which spanned two continents. While his home was in Bakersfield with his beautiful wife Helen for 62 years, the family also had strong roots in Greece and Canada. The son of Greek-immigrants, Constantine Protopapas and Heleni Kominis, Chris was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1916. Shortly after the family returned to Greece in 1918, his mother died in childbirth - and Chris and his three siblings were to spend their childhood years with their Aunt Cleo. He attended elementary school in Villia, a mountain village in western Greece, and recalled stories of all-day horseback journeys over the mountains to reach the exquisite sea of Porto Yermano. It was perhaps no accident that Chris married a Greek girl named Heleni, and bestowed the name of Cleo to his only daughter. Throughout his life, Chris returned many times to the villages of his youth and Athens, Greece, to visit his sister and her son, Lillika and Dimitri Konsta. At the age of eleven, Chris came to Regina where he attended Luther College, a secondary boarding school, and worked in his father's sports- eatery, the Ritz Café. In no time at all, Chris became a local sports hero himself playing Canadian football, ice hockey, and tennis. Years later, Chris was a referee for Bakersfield's first ice hockey team, the Kern Kernals, and early this year, the Condors honored Chris by inviting him to toss a starting game puck. However, his real love was tennis which he played until the age of seventy-six when a hip replacement forced his retirement. He was a member of the Racquet Club's infamous 'nooners' club and enjoyed nothing more than his weekly matches with friends Dr. Norm Levins and John Mackessy. During World War II Chris Protopapas enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy and sailed out of Nova Scotia with a fleet of corvettes hunting down German submarines in the Atlantic Ocean. It was around this time that a handsome sailor in uniform met the love of his life, Helen Stamoulis, in Victoria, British Columbia, and charmed her into marrying him. Coincidentally, the bride's mother and father were from a village in Greece only 60 kilometers from Villia and Porto Yermano. The rest they say is history. Chris and Helen lived in Bakersfield where Chris was a State Farm agent for thirty-six years. He loved his work and had a deep sense of loyalty to and responsibility for ensuring his customers and their families were adequately protected through insurance. No story about Chris Protopapas would be complete without mention of his penchant for keeping detailed, very detailed, records. While the brunt of many a joke regarding his copious filing systems, cross-referenced binders, and cereal boxes labeled with opening dates and times, he was unwavering in his conviction that good planning, organization, and documentation were essential to success in life. Chris lived up to his honorary title of the Gorgeous Greek not because people took notice when he entered a room which they often did. He earned his title because he was a deeply spiritual man, good to the bone, honest to a fault, and made people happy with his terrific, sometimes quirky, and always insightful sense of humor and general good will. He was a strong and confident man, who also inspired others to be the best that they could be. Chris brought unsurpassed joy and love to his wife, daughter, and all that had the fortune to know him. Funeral services will be conducted by Reverend James Pappas on Monday, July 20, 10:00 a.m. at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 401 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA. The family wishes to thank all who have been here with us during this difficult time, with special appreciation to Reverend Monsignor Michael Braun, Hoffmann Hospice, and Doughty-Calhoun- O'Meara Mortuary. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, 1250 Fourth Street, Santa Monica, CA, 1.800.757.2873, www.prostatecancerfoundation.org. Doughty-Calhoun-O'Meara www.bakersfield.com