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FUNERAL HOME

Chapel of the Palms Funeral and Cremation Services - Stockton

303 S. California St.

Stockton, California

Nicholas Deftereos Obituary

Stockton, CA

Oct. 27, 1921 - May 2, 2006

Nicholas Deftereos, a life-long resident of Stockton, passed away on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 at the age of 84. Nick was born on October 27, 1921 to Demonthenes and Penelope Deftereos, the first Greek couple married in Stockton by a traveling priest. He was affectionately known to his immediate family as "Babe", according to strict Greek tradition, until he was baptized at the age of eight and named Nicholas. Nick attended local schools, graduating from Stockton High in 1940. He joined the Merchant Marines during WWII (a member of the "greatest generation") and received a commendation medal for a rescue effort at sea. After the war, he became a carpenter and worked for Nomellini Construction for many years becoming a contractor in 1964 and forming the partnership of Deftereos and Mariani Contractors, Inc. The company built and remodeled homes and businesses throughout San Joaquin County. In 2006, Nick received a lifetime achievement award from Carpenters Local #25. Nick was an avid reader and a faithful viewer of first, the Huntley-Brinkley nightly news and later, the McNeil-Lerher Report for many years. Nick will be remembered for his dry sense of humor and how he made everyone around him laugh.

Nick and his loving wife, the former Laverne Lee of Jamestown, were married in 1946 and resided in Stockton, in two different homes that he built in the Victory Park area, before moving to an adult mobile home park in 2003. After retirement, they traveled to many places throughout the United States and Europe. Through the efforts of his wife, Nick was able to establish contact with long-lost cousins on the island of Capha-lonia, Greece, birthplace of both his parents.

Nick is survived by his wife of 59 years, Laverne; daughter, Nicole Ackerman and companion, Jerry Gifford and son, Kim Deftereos and wife, Barbara; four grandchildren, Christina Ackerman and companion, Frank Rodriguez, Courtney Vortich, Nicholas Deftereos and wife, Kelly, Alex Deftereos and one step-granddaughter, Gina Dedini; three great-grandchildren, Francesca Rodriguez, Hanna Rose Vortich and Isabella Marie Grant; a brother, Pallo Deftereos and wife, Charolette of Sacramento. Nick was preceded in death by his brother, Pete Deftereos and sisters, Mary Lenci, Katherine Guidi and Dena Burrafato. He is survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Family and friends are invited to attend a memorial service at the Chapel of the Palms, 303 S. California St., Stockton, CA on Monday, May 8, 2006 at 1:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to charity of choice.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Record from May 4 to May 5, 2006.

Memories and Condolences
for Nicholas Deftereos

13 Entries

Nicholas Deftereos

May 9, 2006

Good afternoon. I am Nicholas Deftereos and I am here today representing the Grandchildren of the great man that I knew simply as Papa.

Some of the earliest memories that I have of Papa are of him sitting in his chair watching CNN and smoking his pipe. You can imagine how much fun CNN can be for young children so inevitably my sister and I would end up getting into some sort of mischief. Whenever Papa would catch us misbehaving he would always respond in the same way. Wanting to correct our behavior as quickly as possible he was always a little flustered and would inevitably call us by the wrong names. Only recently did I realize that he seemed to have a list in his mind of who misbehaved the most and he would work through that whole list until he reached the correct person. Usually it went something like this, “Kim, Nicole, Diane, Tina, Courtney, Ginger, Nicholas - stop doing that”. Now, being the good grandson that I was my name was usually at the end of that list. By the way – Ginger was the dog’s name.

I didn’t really get to know my Papa well until I was in High School. It was then that I got the chance to see how great of a person he was. From time to time I would bring friends over with me when I would go and visit and he would always include them in conversations and make them feel right at home. He would ask them questions about themselves and their family and by the time the visit was over he would assign them a nickname of some sort that he would remember them by such as “The German” or “The Ice Cream Man”. So my wife and I became the “Teachers”, my sister “That girl from the mountains” and his great-granddaughter “The little one.” Everyone I knew enjoyed visiting with him and they would comment all the time about how great and funny my Papa was.

Growing up people always tell you to get to know your grandparents. I never knew what they were talking about, I mean after all I have known these people my whole life what did they mean get to know them? What else could there be? Well I found out a few years ago that believe it or not they had lived an amazing life before I was even born. I uncovered an amazing story about my Papa that I would have never known about if it weren’t for that amazing thing called the internet.

One day some of my students were talking about “Googling” their names. I had no idea what this was so I asked them to explain. The way it works is you type your name into an internet search engine and see what pops up. Being the curious person that I am I typed my name into Google and all kinds of information came up. Some of it was information about awards that I had won, or articles that I was listed in, but one link came up that really caught my eye. The title read U.S. Merchant Marine Ships Rescue Army Air Corps and Navy Air Crews. At first I dismissed this as just one of those cases of mistaken identity and then it hit me. You see instead of typing my full name, Nicholas, I only typed in Nick Deftereos – a name that I share with my Papa who just happened to have been a Merchant Marine. I quickly clicked on the link and started to read the article that was posted there. In awe I read about the brave men aboard the tanker the Esso Little Rock who rescued 8 crewman from a disabled Navy Catalina Patrol Bomber in the south Pacific Ocean between Nicaragua and the Galapagos Islands. Listed in the article were the crewmen who launched a lifeboat to retrieve the stranded Navy fliers. As I read the names of the 7 crewmen aboard the lifeboat I was in awe. The fourth one down read Nick Deftereos, able seaman. All seven men aboard the lifeboat were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal citation.

I printed out the article and the next time I visited Papa I sat him down and said “I found something that I want to read to you.” As I started reading the article Papa got a curious look on his face. “The Esso Little Rock – I was on that tanker once.” And as I got a little further “The south Pacific – yeah that is where we used to sail”. As I read further he sat back in awe with a smile on his face. When I was done reading the article we spent several hours talking about what had happened that day back in 1943. How he had volunteered to go on the rescue mission and later how they had taken turns shooting the disabled plane using the ships guns and then he showed me his Meritorious Service Medal and other citations he had earned throughout the years.

Papa was a man who loved to entertain people. People were drawn to him by his wonderful smile and his great sense of humor. Whether they had just met him or known him their whole life he made them feel special. My wife, having only known him for a few years, says that anytime she thinks about him she can’t help but smile. I know that is exactly what Papa would have wanted.

I suppose that of all the memories I have there is one recent one that sticks out. During Easter this year we were all sitting around the table at my Dad’s house eating. Papa asked about the house that my wife and I are remodeling and teasing him, I asked if he had been building any houses lately. Aunt Nicole turned toward him and said “You built this house.” “I did?” he asked and Nicole replied “Yes, this was your house, you built it.” Papa turned back toward the group with a smile on his face and asked, “This is my house?” everyone around the table nodded yes. He lifted up his arm with his thumb outstretched and with a twinkle in his eye said “Then everyone get out.”

Today as I say goodbye to this wonderful man I do it not with a heavy heart full of sadness or sorrow, but a smile on my face because I know that right now at this very minute he is in a better place, entertaining everyone with his quick wit and his famous smile.

Courtney Deftereos

May 9, 2006

Papa Nick was a man of few words but his sense of humor and laugh could light up your day. Our memories of him will live on in the stories we share with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We'll miss you Papa.

The See Family

May 7, 2006

Sorry to here about your loss, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Steve and Carla Cole

May 6, 2006

Kim and family:

We were sorry to learn that your father passed away. We hope you find comfort in friends, family and peace in the memories of your dad.

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Sam Flores

May 5, 2006

My thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of sorrow.

Magdalena Dias & Family

May 5, 2006

Your husband was so kind to us. God bless you during these days.

Pam and Evans Hammond

May 5, 2006

Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

Pam and Evans Hammond

Debbie Marmas Buck

May 5, 2006

Kim, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your father, My deepest sympathy

Francesca Rodriguez

May 5, 2006

I'll miss papa nick, he had a great sense of humor.

Denny and Lauren Ah-Tye

May 5, 2006

Our Prayers for Comfort and Compassion goes out to the family.

Janet Deutscher

May 4, 2006

Laverne,Nicole,and Kim,I know words can not change things or make the pain of your loss disappear. But I still want you to know how very sorry I am and that Nick will be greatly missed. But you know he is always with you. He's probably already built something beautiful where he is and loving every minute of it.I will never forget that smile of his.My love to you all,Janet.

Stephanie DeBono-Morris

May 4, 2006

You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Chapel of the Palms

May 3, 2006

Offering our deepest condolences during this difficult time.

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