Constantine Nicholas Spalaris

1927 – 2022

Resident Of Santa Cruz, CA

Constantine Nicholas Spalaris of Santa Cruz, CA, passed away peacefully on November 6, 2022 with his wife of seven decades, Lenore, and his sons Andrew and Chris lovingly by his side. The time of death was almost exactly 2 am Sunday morning when the clocks are set back 1 hour at the end of Daylight Savings Time. At that moment, 2 became 1, both literally & figuratively, a coincidence that would have delighted Costas. Dr. CN Spalaris, who went by his Greek nickname “Costas,” was born in 1927 in a suburb of Pittsburgh, PN. As the eldest child of Greek parents, he was an American citizen by birth on US soil, but returned to Greece with his parents just before the age of two where he spent his formative years on the island of Chios. During this time, Costas and his community were trapped by a harsh German occupation, followed by civil war until 1948, when Costas was finally free to return to the US to attend university. Determined to succeed, Costas worked full time in his uncle’s small grocery store to pay for tuition at Pittsburg University. Costas took the maximum academic load of units each semester at Pitt, attended school nights and summers, and graduated with a degree in Chemistry in 2.5 years. He then began graduate work at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon), received his Masters degree in Chemistry at the University of Oregon, and went on to obtain his PhD in metallurgical Chemistry from Oregon State Univ. When offered a job at General Electric’s burgeoning nuclear engineering division in San Jose, Costas realized his dream: a chance to get involved in cutting-edge science. There, at one time, he headed a scientific group involving some 86 engineers and scientists. Dr. CN Spalaris is also the holder of at least 3 patents relating to nuclear power engineering that provides electrical power for lighting places like the city of Chicago. With his wife and lifelong partner Lenore, Costas established his family and home in San Jose where their two sons attended the excellent public schools that were available to all in the Willow Glen area. Dr. Spalaris is survived by his wife Lenore, his sons Andrew and Chris and their families, and by his sister Mary of Arlington, Massachusetts, and her children and great-grandchildren, and many relatives and friends on the island of Chios, Greece. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in the name of Dr. CN Spalaris explicitly to be used as student scholarships in Chemistry to his Alma Maters: Pittsburgh University and the University of Oregon, as well as Oregon State University. Notes of sympathy may be sent to Lenore Spalaris and family, in care of her church, Trinity Presbyterian, 420 Melrose Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062. A memorial/celebration of life for Costas will be held at the church in Santa Cruz, on a date to be announced soon after the holidays this year.