John Tavoularis was affectionately known as Uncle John. He would have preferred to waltz or swing through life listening to songs of Frank Sinatra or The Andrew Sisters. But the body's ailment slowed him down over the last years and he found comfort listening to his favorite music, watching UCLA basketball on television, and most of all, being with his family.

Born in 1924 in coldness of the East, then moving from Lowell, Massachusetts to Maine and eventually to Los Angeles with his mother and her three brothers and their families.

He was a decorated solider of World War II and he was awarded the Purple Heart. Uncle John was wounded in the Germany theater. For his heroic services, he was also decorated with the Bronze Star and awarded 5 additional medals for his service and in the other theaters of the war for the United States Army.

Despite his meritorious wartime achievements, this part of his life was private he rarely spoke about it. But the Tavoularis are known for their military traditions and achievements. His two uncles Stylianos and Kyriakos, having been highly decorated generals in the Greek military.

Following the war, through the G.I. Bill, he studied Business Management and became an accountant and administrator, beginning a 36 year career with the county of Los Angeles.

Uncle John was a loving son who cared for his mother for years. In the style of Cary Grant, he tenderly called her "Old Girl" and she loved it!

Mary Tavoularis, his mother (our Yia Yia) was married to George Anastasakos (our Papou) in Lowell, Massachusetts. He passed away in 1923, leaving behind 3 children: Arthur, Venetta and Helen. She then married Thomas Tavoularis. Uncle John was a few months old when his half-siblings were sent to Greece. Decades later they were re-united. Everyone has preceded Uncle John in death.

When his sister Venetta Birakos arrived in America in July 1947 with the 3 children, she took the children to her mother's house in Long Beach, California. After a short re-acquaintance, Venetta asked her brother to bring potato chips for the kids. They did not believe that potatoes would be fried and kept in a bag, as she had told them in Greece many times before. Why was this day memorable? The sound of bombs re-awakened memories of World War II for the kids - but this was not war, it was the Fourth of July!

John Thomas Tavoularis loved to travel. He traveled to many places around the world, and when he traveled, "He did it his way!"

Funeral service will be at 11 am on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at Saint John Greek Orthodox Church, 405 N. Dale Street, Anaheim, CA. Interment will take place later this month, held at Arlington National Cemetery, where he will receive full military honors.

Arrangements under the direction of Chapman Funeral Homes - Terry & Mary Harmon, Funeral Directors. Toll free (855) 628-0447.

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Obituary notice for Chapman Funeral Homes. Please visit www.chapmanfuneraldirectors.com .

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