- Date Of Birth: January 24, 1933
- Date Of Death: October 26, 2021
- State: Colorado
Chris J. Pappas, 88, passed away peacefully on October 26, 2021 at his home after a valiant battle with cancer. Chris is survived by his daughters; Terianne Pappas and Anastasia Pappas Fuller; grandson Zachary Fuller; granddaughter Alexandra Fuller; daughter in law Carla Kenney and her husband John Kenney (who is like a son to Chris); grandson Chis Kenney and wife Mary; great grandson Leo Christopher Kenney; grandson Paul Kenney and granddaughter Julia Kenney; step-daughter Laurie Navarro and her husband James and their children Sascha and Sabrina Navarro.
Born in Davenport, Iowa to James C. and Anastasia (Esther) Pappas. Chris is preceded in death by Marjorie (ML) and Joanne. He felt he was fortunate to have two beautiful wives. For his education, Chris attended Davenport High School, where he lettered in Football, Basketball and Baseball. He went on to attend Coe College in Cedar Rapids Iowa, where he played football his freshman and sophomore years. He was first string quarterback on the varsity team his freshmen year. He coached freshman football his senior year. Chris was drafted in the Army during the Korean War, and attended adjutant General School where he became a postal specialist. He was stationed in Linz, Austria, where he quarterbacked the football team that won the Austria-Italy Championship. The team was comprised of college and a single professional player. He also coached and played on the hospital basketball team.
One of Chris’s greatest loves was playing golf, which he also enjoyed with ML and was grateful to play a round of golf with her the day before she died. By the way, she beat him and he had to pay $10. Their love of playing golf together is the reason he has their putters with him… so they can practice when they see each other again.
As exceptional as he was in banking and business in general, with many people in many industries seeking his advice, he was most well known for being one heck of a great guy. Everyone who ever met him, loved him. He is the man that always has a smile and wants to brighten your day by telling you how great you are. Countless ladies were told that they looked beautiful today, countless children were given smiles. Oh, and the guys loved him too. He was a huge believer in joking around. He was also a man who shared his father’s simple but profound philosophies, that he passed on to his children and others. One of our favorites is, “Don’t think about yesterday, don’t think about today, don’t worry about tomorrow, put a smile on your face and say thank God I am alive today”. He was an extremely generous man with both his time and money, always giving more than he received.
