Retired from American Bridge, became a chocolatier
Nick J. Koutoulakis was an artist with an unusual medium: chocolate.
“It was truly his passion in life from an early age,” said his daughter Diane Davliakos, of Valencia, Butler County. “He was an artist who loved to create.”
After retiring as a contract analyst for U.S. Steel’s American Bridge division, the Korean War veteran and former Marine devoted his life to his business, Niko’s Candies, in Conway, Beaver County.
“He became a different person when he was working with chocolate,” Mrs. Davliakos said of her father, 91, who died at his Valencia home on Friday after a 17year battle with prostate cancer.
Mr. Koutoulakis learned his skill as a chocolatier at the knee of his father, James Koutoulakis, a Greek immigrant who owned the Palace of Sweets confectionary in Rochester with a friend.
“My grandfather would make homemade candy and ice cream, and my dad worked there with his brothers when he was little,” Mrs. Davliakos said.
When he was a student at Rochester High School, Mr. Koutoulakis knew to leave football games at the start of the fourth quarter to help his family ready for the inevitable slam of customers that would pack the store after the games.
“It was a hangout after football games and the movies let out,” his daughter said.
After he graduated in 1946, Mr. Koutoulakis took a year off to earn money for college before enrolling at Geneva College, where he studied economics.
But his education was interrupted in 1951, when Mr. Koutoulakis was drafted into the Korean War.
“When he was drafted, he chose the Marines,” said his daughter. “He really enjoyed his time serving, and he truly loved being a Marine and serving his country. He would talk about being on patrol at night and snowstorms and whiteouts in the mountains. He had a lot of stories to share.”
Mr. Koutoulakis was a sergeant with 1st Marine Division, 7th Regiment in Korea until 1953, when he returned to Geneva College and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1955.
Anxious to get a good job after school, Mr. Koutoulakis took advantage of a friendly tip that proved fortuitous.
“He went to a swimming hole in Raccoon Creek and saw a friend who told him they were hiring at American Bridge in Ambridge,” his daughter said. “He jumped out, ran home, showered and put on a suit. He literally ran there, and they hired him that day.”
Mr. Koutoulakis worked for the U.S. Steel subsidiary for 30 years, including on several interesting projects, like contracts for the construction of the TransAlaska Pipeline System in the 1970s.
In 1968, he met Anastasia “Stacy” Amygdalos at a Goya convention in Uniontown, his daughter said.
“She was pouring coffee, and he came through,” she said.
Mr. Koutoulakis followed the young teacher to Greece that summer, hoping to convince her not to move to the old country.
“He asked her to come back to the U.S., and she did,” his daughter said.
The two were married in July 1969.
After he retired in 1985, Mr. Koutoulakis decided to open the confectionery in his home. He continued operating it until recent years, when his health began failing.
“Before that, he would make chocolates for the family, but when he retired, that’s what he wanted to do full time,” his daughter said. “He completely remodeled one side of the house with a full kitchen and the marble slabs and 100-year-old copper kettle and stove from his father. He would use that with a big paddle.”
His 1-pound chocolate Easter eggs were popular, along with Christmas candy, but it was the peanut butter pretzel hearts that customers loved the most, his daughter said.
“He came up with a small pretzel filled with a peanut butter cream mixture, and then he would hand-dip it,” she said. “He was a perfectionist. The chocolate had to be 88 degrees, and he would wear surgical gloves when he worked with it.”
As a child, his daughter recalled her role placing jelly beans in the chocolate/coconut bird’s nests that her father made.
“He was always trying to perfect things,” said Mrs. Davliakos, who often got to sample the delicious creations.
A “strict but fair” dad, Mr. Koutoulakis taught his daughter not to give up on her dreams.
“He was the kind of guy that if you wanted to do something, you had to do it right and put in 100% effort,” she said. “I wanted to play tennis, and he taught me. He took me out every day, no matter rain or shine, and we practiced.”
Witty and fun, her dad lavished attention on his four grandchildren, who called him “Papou,” his daughter said.
And he often helped out those in need anonymously.
“My dad was a very good, solid man who did the right thing,” she said. “He helped so many people who were in need, but he did it very quietly. He liked to share what he had with people who needed it.”
Mr. Koutoulakis was preceded in death by his brothers, Louis and Aris Koutoulakis.
Services will be held on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Monastery, 121 St. Elias Lane, Saxonburg. Interment with military honors will follow in the Nativity of the Theotokos Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Monastery, 121 St. Elias Lane, Saxonburg, PA 16056.