George Kariotoglou

George was born on March 15, 1933, on the Island of Samos, Greece. He was number three in a family of five children in the Kariotoglou family. Born to father Platon and mother Angeliki. One more brother Lefteris, was born after George, while they lived in Samos. Then WW11 came and his father, Platon moved the family to the city of Piraeus, the main port of Greece, for a better life to raise their children. It was very hard times during the war. By the end of the war in 1945, the Kariotoglou family had one more child, a son named Vasilis. George was growing up and destined to become an operating engineer in the merchant marines, something very common to Greeks at this time. After four years of schooling, he received his diploma and was hired by a marine company on a cargo ship and left home. None of us saw him for years; however, he communicated with his family by letters. In 1958, the ship he was on was headed to Vancouver, BC to pick up cargo, but on the voyage over, the ship was grounded North of Aberdeen, close to the beach. The coast guard evacuated everybody from the grounded ship; there were no casualties. The crew was sent to Renton to wait for another ship. One day, George and his friends rented a car to go for a drive, but they didn’t go far; they ran into a tree up on the sidewalk, and the car caught on fire. By the time they got George out of the car, he had suffered some very bad burns. He stayed in the hospital for some time. The word spread to the Greek community in the area, and people began visiting him in the hospital. One of the visitors was a very young lady named Voula(Paraskevi). It did not take long after he was released from the hospital that they were married. After that, Uncle Sam showed up at the door looking for him. In order for George to stay here, he volunteered for the United States Army. They sent him to Fairbanks, Alaska. He lived there with is new wife, Voula and their first son, Platon was born in Alaska. After his honorable discharge, they came back to Seattle, and he started working for the bakery company Gais, baking bread. They stayed there for a few years and bought their first home in South Seattle close to Lake Washington. The kids were in school, and all of the family was thriving and doing well. George and Voula decided to help their younger brother Vasili and his new wife Katy(Ekaterini) by bringing them to the United States from Greece. Later, George changed jobs and worked for the shipyard as a pipefitter until he was hired at the Vaval shipyard in Bremerton. He later qualified to work on the nuclear submarines at Bangor Base, where he would retire. George loved to garden, and he especially loved his tomatoes. He also loved to fish and take his family on trips out to Kalaloch for smelting and catching perch. George was married to Voula for 67 years. He was an honest and easy-going man who loved his wife and children very much. He will be deeply missed. George passed away on August 7, 2025, surrounded by his family. George is survived by his loving wife Voula. His son Adam(Marla) Kariotoglou, daughter Eleni(Constantine) Kefalas; and his grandchildren, Christina(Trent) Tam Sing, Nicole(Sean) Koehler, Xander Kariotoglou, and his great-granddaughter Daphne. May God Bless His Soul. A Funeral Service will be held Friday, August 15th, 11:00 am at Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Church, 1915 N Western Ave., Wenatchee, WA. A Graveside service to follow at Quincy Valley Cemetery, 104 B Street SW, Quincy, WA. Arrangements by Chapel of the Valley, East Wenatchee.

George Kariotoglou

March 15, 1933 - August 7, 2025