Nicholas Tsamoutales

1932 - 2021

PROMINENT ATTORNEY AND COMMUNITY LEADER, TSAMOUTALES, LOSES BATTLE TO PSP AT AGE 89
Nicholas Frank Tsamoutales, 89, of Melbourne, Florida, was called to the Lord on February 9, 2021, after a long battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP).

Born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on February 7th, 1932, ""Nick"" as he was called by his friends and family, grew up with a strong love for his family, his country and his Greek heritage. He was a devoted altar boy at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and learned the value of hard work as a young boy working in his father's restaurants. When not working for his father or serving in the church, Nick was an avid reader and was known to be a competitive athlete. He graduated from Lock Haven University with a B.A. '57 and where he continued his competitive athletic streak on the LHU Bald Eagle Wrestling Team. After graduation, Nick was called to public service as a public school teacher in Wilmington, Delaware. His passion for service, love of country, and patriotism compelled him to answer the Nation's call as he voluntarily enlisted in the United States Army during the Korean War. Nick served out his Regular Army enlistment in the 3rd Armored Division at Fort Knox, KY. and was honorably discharged from active duty and transferred into the Army Reserves, where he would fulfill the remainder of his eight years of service. Following his service in the U.S. Army, he moved to Florida to attend and graduated from the University of Miami Law School (J.D. '64) where he also wrote for the Law Review.

Admitted to the Florida Bar in 1964, Mr. Tsamoutales devoted much of his life to the law and was considered to be one of the most effective criminal defense attorneys in Miami. One of his successful cases was the subject of the best-selling book, I'm Gonna Bury You, by Gene Neill (c. 1975). Upon his moving to Brevard County in 1972, Nick established the first Office of Legal Advisor inside a police department. His vision was to share his knowledge as a criminal defense lawyer with the Melbourne Police Department to equip law enforcement officers with the tools necessary to prevent their arrests from being vulnerable to criminal defenses. Nick was a proud member of the Florida Bar for over 50 years and was recognized as an expert local government attorney for more than four decades, representing seven different local governments during that time, most notably as the City Attorney for The City of Palm Bay. Mr. Tsamoutales is a past president of the Florida Municipal Attorneys Association and in 2003 was honored by his peers as the winner of the Paul Buchman Award, recognizing him as Florida's Outstanding Municipal Attorney of the Year, an honor that he cherished. The Florida Bar also recognized his significant contributions to the development of local government law in Florida by awarding him the 2018 Ralph A. Marsicano Award. Mr. Tsamoutales' professional accolades are too numerous to list, and his humble nature would be displeased with us attempting to do so here.

Nick had a zest for life and loved living, working, and raising his family on the Space Coast. His dedication helped shape the community into what it is today. In addition to his work allowing him to play a behind the scenes role in much of Palm Bay and Melbourne's development, he was instrumental in the building of St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church and was a volunteer at its annual Greek Festival. In 1986, Nick was appointed to the Board of Trustees for Brevard Community College (now Eastern Florida State College) by Governor Bob Martinez and became a board member of the Brevard Performing Arts Center in its 1988 inaugural season. The following year he made the motion to rename the performing arts center after the college's past President Maxwell C. King. Nick was an active volunteer for the Indian River Players, Rolling Readers, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and many of his sons youth sports teams. He remained a fitness enthusiast his whole life and played tennis regularly for many years at the Fee Avenue courts and in tournaments throughout the state. Recently, a grant was given in his name to fund research for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

Nick is survived by his wife of 29 years, Sharolyn M. Tsamoutales, and their sons Christian and Michael, as well as his older sons Frank (Kimberly), John (Sabrina) and James (Lori), and their mother Mary. A loving and kind Papou, he is survived by his seven grandchildren, Nicholas (Elizabeth), Cynthia (Norman), Trent, Madi, Raegan, Acacia, and Andrew, as well as 5 adorable great-grandchildren.

He is preceded into eternal rest by his parents Frank and Maria Tsamoutales, his two loving older sisters Stella Papanikolas and Vada Ganakos, and his infant daughter Maria Andrea.

Services will be held Thursday, February 11, 2021, at Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, 5965 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne, Florida. Viewing from 10:00am-11:00am followed by funeral services from 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. There will be a military graveside service at 2:00 p.m. at the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, Mims, Florida.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name to Neurosciences Research at Mayo Clinic at https://philanthropy.mayoclinic.org/donatemc or to PSP.org . May his memory be eternal.