Theodore Pappas

September 11, 1925 - August 23, 2014 Theodore "Ted" Pappas, an accomplished lawyer and prominent member of the Greek Orthodox community in Los Angeles, passed away August 23 at the age of 88. Ted was born on September 11, 1925, in New York City. The son of Greek immigrants, Emanuel Pappas and Fannie Tsurafu, he served in the U. S. Navy in World War II, as a radioman aboard the destroyer, U.S.S. Blue. He was the last-known surviving crew member from WWII. Ted attended New York University on the GI Bill graduating with a degree in business and later attended Brooklyn College of Law where he received his Juris Doctor degree. He was a member of both the New York and California bars. He married Evangeline ("Van") Marentis in 1949, and the two of them immigrated to Los Angeles, California, in 1957. In his early career, Ted worked as a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service in New York and Los Angeles. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Ted became tax counsel for Rexall Drug Corporation and later its parent, Dart Industries, Inc., where he specialized in international tax matters. In 1980, he became Vice President and General Counsel of Tupperware International, a Dart subsidiary, where he remained until his retirement in 1988. In his roles with Dart and Tupperware, Ted, frequently accompanied by Van, traveled extensively throughout the world, from Asia and the Pacific to South America and Europe, where he set up and oversaw the legal matters for Tupperware subsidiaries, manufacturing facilities and distributorships. Ted was particularly proud of setting up one of the first and only wholly owned U.S. subsidiaries in Japan in the early 1960's, and he often commented on the lasting and deep personal relationships he and Van had with his colleagues overseas of different nationalities, whom he visited frequently after retirement. Ted was an influential member of the Greek Orthodox community in America. As the President of the board of St. Nicholas Church and as a founder and President of the St. Nicholas Church Foundation in Northridge, California, he was instrumental in building St. Nicholas Church and community center, the St. Nicholas Parochial School, and two sets of senior citizen apartments which have housed hundreds of the community's elderly. He was honored for his service by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople with the bestowing of the office of Archon, one of the highest honors available to non-clergy in the Greek Orthodox Church. Ted is survived by Van, his wife of 65 years, daughter Andrea and son-in-law Robert McCausland, daughter Penelope and son-in-law William Brown, son Michael and daughter-in-law Nancy Pappas, sister Catherine Karaconstantis, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations made to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 9501 Balboa Blvd., Northridge, CA 91325. Viewing Tuesday, at 7 p.m.; funeral Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Nicholas Church.