Fr. Nicholas Andrews (Andritsopoulos) fell asleep in the Lord on Sunday, June 2, 2013. Fr. Nicholas (Niko) was born in London, Ontario, Canada on April 21, 1958. He was raised in Michigan and Illinois, and later he relocated to Athens, Greece with his family, where he completed high school. Following graduation, he enrolled at the University of LaVerne (overseas campus), from which he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, with a double minor in Sociology and Education. He was granted a scholarship by the Ministry of Exterior of the Greek government to study Theology at the University of Athens. In 1978, he returned to the United States and completed his studies at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, graduating in 1979 with a Master's of Divinity degree. Upon completion of his graduate studies, he relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, in order to join his family, where his father, Fr. Apostolos, was the parish priest at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, and where Fr. Nicholas served as a lay assistant. He returned to Greece in 1982 and worked for the Department of the U.S. Army as an Education Specialist. Returning to Las Vegas in 1985, he continued his education by taking graduate courses in Psychology and Counseling, subsequently passing his State Boards, thus becoming a licensed Substance Abuse Therapist. In November 1993, he accepted a position in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as a Substance Abuse Consultant at the Al-Amal Hospital. Following is return to Las Vegas in 1994, he worked at the Charter Hospital facility. In May 1998, he became the Spiritual Care Coordinator at Safe Harbor Hospice. On June 6th of that year, he married his longtime-friend, Toni Eck. On August 20, 2000, he was ordained to the Holy Diaconate at St. John Greek Orthodox Church in Las Vegas by Metropolitan Anthony of blessed memory. On September 24th of that year, he was ordained to the Orthodox Holy Priesthood at the Annunciation Cathedral in Houston, Texas, by Archbishop Demetrios. On August 22, 2004, he was bestowed the ecclesiastical office of Economos by Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver. Fr. Nicholas served at the Cathedral in Houston for six years until relocating to California, serving at St. Nectarios Church in Covina from October through December of 2006. From January 2007 until his death, he lovingly served the faithful of St. John the Baptist parish in Anaheim. Fr. Nicholas was a third-generation Greek Orthodox priest. He was fluent in Greek, English, and Spanish, and had a working knowledge of Arabic. Fr. Nicholas and Presvytera Toni adopted miniature schnauzers as their "children," +Shadow, Shade, & Sunny. He was preceded in death by his father, Fr. Apostolos; his mother, Presvytera Helen; and brother-in-law, Allan Padderud. He is survived by his wife, Presvytera Toni; "children," Shade & Sunny; sister, Joanne Andrews (Mike Ehlman); sisters-in-law Teri Tarquinio and Tami Rush (Jim); niece Megan Tarquinio; and mother-in-law Margaret Eck.

An Orthodox Trisagion service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 9, 2013, and funeral at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 10, both at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, 405 N. Dale St., Anaheim, CA. A Trisagion service followed by interment will take place in Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The St. John the Baptist (Anaheim) Building Fund.

______________________________

AmericanObituary.com is a Baywalk Marketing service.

facebook.com/AmericanObituary - twitter.com/AmericaObituary