Demetrios Vardakis

Demetrios Vardakis, 86, passed away just before sunrise on September 16th surrounded by his wife and daughter. The cause was metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Demetri was fortunate to live a life that straddled two worlds — the European one of his wartime boyhood and the energetic, prosperous one he entered upon his New York arrival in the 1950s. His peripatetic life began in Romania, where his father, a native of Greece, owned a lumber factory. At about 10 years of age, he, his siblings and parents, Aristide and Anna (Portik-Szabo) Vardakis, pulled up stakes, taking a freighter to Athens, Greece, (on the way getting stranded on a sandbar for two weeks) following the Communist takeover of Romania after WW2. In 1956 once more they moved, this time flying to the United States — five years later attaining American citizenship. Demetri was conversant with many languages; Romanian; school-boy German as an enrollee at a German school in Brasov, Romania; Hungarian from his mother; Greek of course from his father and his residency there —  and finally English in this country. He described the frustration of not really having a “mother tongue” as a solid foundation and often would listen to the erudite William F Buckley on “Firing Line” to improve his language skills. This desire to “dominate” the language, as he put it, led to a lifetime of avid reading and enjoyment of literature. A well-worn dictionary held together by masking tape was always by his side at the ready to help build vocabulary.
As a resident of New York City, he first attended the High School of Commerce, then, with fluency in English, he enrolled in the City College of New York, graduating as an Electrical Engineering major. In 1965 he found opportunity working in his field at the Bendix Corporation in Teterboro, New Jersey, staying with that company for more than 45 years as it subsequently became the Allied Corporation, then Allied-Signal and finally the Honeywell Corporation. One career highlight was his involvement with the Apollo Moon Program, testing (and retesting!) the altimeter system for the LEM. It must work flawlessly and it did.
Demetri was an introvert by nature; while summering (and more!) in Orleans he enjoyed long walks on Nauset strands and the Rail Trail and, when younger, indulged his interest in tennis and skiing. He was a fixer of things, often repairing the apparently “unrepairable,” coming up with novel ways to prolong the life of an item that would appear to be a lost cause. He was taught violin in Romania, a “big talent” said his mother, but lessons ceased when the family moved to Greece. This exposure to music sparked a lifelong appreciation of classical music and opera; whether In Orleans or in New York City the radio dial was always set to either WFCC or WQXR.  Cooking brought great joy in his retirement; he actually read cookbooks — and our family get-togethers were more tasty for it. Expressive and opinionated, he was a definite personality, passionate to be an American citizen and dedicated to duty and family. He was a devoted hands-on grandfather, taking that role seriously, generously and with gusto. He was proud to have Milo as his grandson. A man who never wore any jewelry sported, with dedication til the very end, a pink beaded bracelet that Milo had crafted. Always willing, early and on-time, he was unfailingly reliable with his obligations and follow-through. However, remembering notable dates and names — well, that was extraneous information and, on purpose, was not retained.
Demetri; lover of nature, and of nature’s gifts of music, food and family leaves his wife, Lynn (Barry);  his daughter, Daphne (Jason) Bernstein and their son, Milo, of Los Angeles, CA; sisters Aspasia Tzouris of Burlington, NC and Harriet Gyarmati of San Marcos, CA.; his brother-in-law Earl Bahler of South Orleans and New York City and a sprinkling of nieces and nephews, including Anthony (Maureen) Tzouris of San Marcos, CA;  Lily (Nim) Batchelor of Burlington, NC, their children (Jenn, Greg); Sara Bahler Little and her sons (Jackson, Hudson) of Fort Collins, CO, and Graham Bahler of New York City.
Memorial service plans are incomplete at this time but will be held in Orleans and Brooklyn, NY, at a later date.