Forward by Fr. Anthony

This commemorative book contains photographs and dedications from our current growing and active life of ministry at Saint Nicholas, as well as a memorial for the previous 100 years of dedicated service within its walls. Through the years, countless weddings, baptisms, ordinations, and funerals have taken place. Many family members who have since moved away have expressed their love and gratitude for our spiritual home each time they return—reminiscing upon the return to the very place their own feet once stood for a marital crowning.

The walls of Saint Nicholas have expanded through the years, in the recent expansion of the church temple narthex, as well as previous historical expansions of upper and lower fellowship halls.

Our narthex has recently been adorned with the iconographic life of Saint Nicholas by iconographer Athanasios (Tom) Clark, through the prayers of our greater community and supportive donations by our beloved benefactors. This revitalized space has already proven to be a catechetical gem for both young and old, visitors and life-long family members. The work of expansion into the chapel of Saint Nikiforos the Leper has also begun in recent years, of which we delight in the prospect of its completion. Our daily services offer plenty of opportunities to spend time surrounded by our patrons as we light a candle and make our way into the greater nave. Entering into our own ark of salvation, the very body of the church temple of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, we gather as so many generations before us—in prayerful unity with our eyes gazed toward the heavenly kingdom, under the protection of Panagia and Christ Pantokrator.

This publication serves as a token of honor and gratitude toward all of you and those who came before us, who strove for 100 years to create the miracle that is Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church—a community that has spiritually shaped the greater Tacoma and Pacific Northwest, and continues to do so today.

I bring my thoughts to a close by expressing my deepest gratitude to the entire supportive community, and to all of you, my beloved brothers and sisters, who offered your full-fledged support and demonstrated that Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is an integral part of your lives! Your families and their prayerful legacy built Saint Nicholas, and you maintain it continuously through your own dedication and sacrifices. We invite you to pay a visit to our beloved spiritual home, and light a candle for your loved ones, both living and reposed, who valiantly struggled in spirit to keep the prayer life active at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

May God richly bless you!

In Christ,

Fr. Anthony Cornett
Parish Priest

Acknowledgements

In 1977 George Victor created The First Fifty Years, a reflection of the history of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Tacoma, Washington. Twenty-three years later, George’s cousin, Katy Mason, and her committee produced A 75-Year Journey through Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

When Katy approached me in the spring of 2024 and asked me to be the chairperson of the St. Nicholas Centennial Book Committee, my first thought was, “No way!” How could I possibly gather and portray the 100 years of history of our dear parish? I am absolutely not worthy or qualified for such a task. I agreed to meet Katy for coffee where I had every intention of politely declining her request. However, she explained to me how the first 75 years of church history had already been told. I was a teenager in the year 2000 and did not recall the 75-year book. Learning that only the last 25 years of church history had to be added seemed a much more manageable task and I (still somewhat reluctantly) agreed to take the project on, with Katy acting as committee advisor.

Katy and I announced our plan to form a Centennial Book Committee and invited parishioners to attend an informational meeting. Zach Karanasos, Roxanne Vallantine, and LTC Gus Chamales volunteered to join our committee during that meeting. I also received notification from published author Scott Cairns, who volunteered to join in and help with book editing. Andy Evancho was our go-to-guy when it came to technical difficulties; he also helped us with scanning.

Unfortunately, we were unable to locate the CD from 2000 that contained the entire digital copy of the 75-year book. Katy—with help from Andy—was able to open her old file folder that contained the book in a Word Document, but it did not include any pictures. Mark Robinson helped by taking a copy of the 75-year book and scanning it into a PDF. I combined the photos from the PDF with the text from the Word Document. We were then ready to add content to cover the next 25 years of church history. Roxanne helped reach out to the church ministry/organization/committee leaders to gather the information that is the meat of Part Three.

A big thank you to Paul Apostle, Kathy Rowly, Dr. Nick Themelis, Genevieve Eagle, Dean Hamos, Bill Acker, John and Merilee Pangis, Zach Karanasos, Andrew and Rebecca Primis, Olga Manos, George and Diane Pirotis, Dr. Anastasia Fyntrilakis, Helen McClure, Gus Chamales, Jane Evancho, Susan Manthou, and Presvytera Anna Cornett for your contributions to our history. Tony Panagiotu connected us with his contact at Print Northwest, who has completed projects for the church in the past. Tony and his wife Debbie very graciously offered to underwrite the cost of the book. Katy Mason ended up being much more than our committee advisor; for multiple weeks she set up a table downstairs after liturgy and collected order forms and payments from parishioners who wished to enter a congratulations/family page. The funds collected would go towards additional expenses. This book would not be possible without much help from Katy and our other committee members. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Although nerve-racking at times, my initial hesitation soon turned to joy, and I am truly honored to be part of this project. It is an absolute privilege to help share the story of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which has always been home to me. There are family histories here (including my own) that run generations deep, from the beginning, one hundred years ago.

However, St. Nicholas is no longer a Greek-dominated community. Naturally, people have moved away over the years, and some have sadly fallen away from church, but St. Nicholas continues and will continue to thrive. We have gained so many wonderful converts and new parishioners from all places and walks of life. They are now, and will always be, part of the St. Nicholas body, the body of Christ in Tacoma, Washington. Long after I am gone, the memories and the love of the founding fathers—and every parishioner since—will continue to live on. Today, my beautiful Yiayia was laid to rest next to her beloved husband at Tacoma Cemetery, the same cemetery where my Nouna was buried just eight days prior. As I walked through the cemetery and gazed upon the names of many loved ones and cherished friends, their memories filled me with peace and gratitude. Most of their smiling faces can be found within this book.

Thank you to all who have contributed pictures, history, and words of congratulations on the following pages. I hope reading through it fills your heart with delight for years to come.

All my love in Christ,

Christina (Karanasos) Gretty
March 18, 2025