Nickiforos Stamoulis

I have fond memories of my Uncle Nick. An Olympian of the 1960 Roman games, goal keeper for Athena, and accomplished pool player, one of his side hustles. We shared a love of sport and movies. Everything was a competition, or we would turn it into one. As a kid we would train together doing situps with our feet locked, and we would thow the medicine ball at eachother full pelt, just because I was a kid didn't mean he went easy, that isn't in the vocabulary of a Stamoulis. He would just ask " do you give up now?" of course I would answer no until I was at the point of exhaustion. Needless to say I had awesome abs as a kid! I also remember working the bottle washer with him in Tempe in his soft drink factory. Uncle Nick would line up the crates containing empty bottles next to me as I was too little, and I would line up the bottles with precision in a row for the washer...and again it was a race of speed, well for us anyway! Eventually when I got too tired of this child labour deal I would run and hide to my darling Auntie Norma, with hands on hips, throwing my arms in the air" Varethika!" I've had enough. But he would come and find me. We also shared a love of movies, especially Westerns. We would sit for hours watching movies, that's how I learnt all the names of the old Hollywood actors, that was also one of his fortes. But his greatest attribute was his kindness and love of people. You could feel it. Although he never said much you felt it and you just knew how much he loved you. The strong silent type seems to be a Stamoulis trait,as I have recently learnt. I love you Uncle Nick. I will see you again. Love Athena, Andrea Beba xxx

Posted by Athena, Andrea Beba Perdis 28/06/2024