John 'Dutch' Kotanides

My dad passed away Thursday evening, July 30th. He lived a great, wonderful life full of love and laughter. He was 87 years old and was born in 1928 in Uhrichsville, Ohio spending most of his years as a resident of Canton. For most of his life we celebrated his birthday on February 23rd until mom had to retrieve his birth certificate and saw the date was actually February 24th. Record keeping back in 1928 was a bit archaic. He always seemed to be in the center of all the activity and touched so many lives and will be dearly missed but never forgotten. He adored Evelyn (Papadopoulos), or Evanthia as he called her - his wife of over 63 years. They eloped and were married on December 1st, 1951 in Jeffersonville, Indiana. My godfather, George Naves,'Navo' as dad always called him, and Al Rugani stood up for them at the ceremony. Mom took a bus from Canton to Louisville, KY where dad and his buddies (who were all stationed in Fort Knox) met her and traveled together to Jeffersonville for the wedding. Their bond was deep and strong and continued to the end. Four children came soon thereafter. First born was Karen, followed by Peter John 'PJ' and Karl (Lori) and finally me, John Jr. He was a strict but loving father who taught us how to behave, sit up straight and excuse ourselves before leaving the dinner table. He always believed in helping those less fortunate and reminded us to be very thankful for all that we had. He has two grandchildren who affectionately referred to him as 'Papou'; Shayla (soon to be Mrs Reid Lamport) and Troy. He used to hold Shayla as an infant and rock her while singing 'Oh my papa' to try to settle her from her crying. We saw another side of him when he was with his grandchildren and it was beautiful. He was 'nouno' godfather twice; to Gregory Smith and Diana (Rick) Kuty. He had many nieces and nephews who turned out to be really great cousins. He was a proud veteran of the US Army having served in Germany in the late 1940's. He also served during the Korean War, stationed in Fort Knox, Ky. He loved to bowl and was really, really good at it. He was a devout Greek Orthodox Christian and loved his church and community very much - singing in the choir, sitting on the church parish board and volunteering countless hours during the early years of the Greek festival. My brothers and I can attest as he took us there every year during the set-up and tear down. He was more the 'roll up your sleeves and do the hard work type of guy' – something that was instilled in him from his parents who immigrated to the US in the early 1900's. He worked most his life for Ekco Housewares and had a bevy of 'lovelies' working with him - or so he called them. It was the 1960's and 70's - things were different back then. My family will always remember the fun times dad had with his 'card club'; Milt, Navo and Joe. He was a true dad, strong role model that we all looked up to. He always wanted better for his children as most parents do. Even though he didn't go to college, he chose Georgia Tech for me and I am still thankful to this day. Dad loved to travel and went on great trips with mom and also organized many wonderful bus excursions (as the 'tour guide') for the seniors at the church with his cohort Audrey - trips that are still talked about today, remembered fondly and dearly missed. One of my fondest memories in his later years was taking him to St Louis for the March Madness college basketball regionals. He loved GT sports as much as I. As soon as the game went into overtime versus Kansas, he got up and walked around the perimeter. He always got nervous when the games were close. We won (smile). He has four wonderful sisters; Maroula Mottas, Elbus (Chris) Kellamis, Sophia and Parthena. Sophia and Pat are in heaven with his parents Despina and Peter and they are together again. His sister-in-laws were a big part of our very big Greek Family; Sylvia Papadopoulos, Alice (Steve) Samartgedes, Argery (Phil) Giavasis, Kay Smith and Tina (Jerry) Fortune. We'll miss 'Dutch' tremendously but will cherish the fond memories and his wonderful spirit that lives on in all of us. Rest in peace dear dad. "When he shall die / Take him and cut him out in little stars / And he will make the face of heaven so fine / That all the world will be in love with night" - William Shakespeare. Thank you to the wonderful staffs of St Luke and Bethany - we love you. Calling hours will be one hour before the funeral from 10-11 AM on Monday, August 3rd at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Canton, Ohio. Services will commence at 11 AM with Rev. Dr. Daniel Rogich officiating. Interment will be at Forest Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church at 4705 Fairhaven Ave NW, Canton, Ohio 44709.