George S. Nicholas

George Nicholas, age 95, joined our heavenly Father with his family beside him on May 9th, 2026.  He is survived by his children Sam Nicholas, Maria (Dick) Roberts; sister Chris Hultzen; grandchildren Alicia Nicholas, Andrew (Rachel) Greiner; great grandchild Sylvie Greiner; several beloved nephews, nieces, grand nephews, grand nieces, sister in laws and brother in laws.  It would not be complete without recognizing that he is survived by 3 very special people that became like his grandchildren because of all the love shared between them; Jayme Brantsen, Madison Diltz, and Taylor Zank (Elliott).  George was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Katina; His mother and father, Sam and Penelope Nicholas; His father-in-law and mother-in-law, Euaggelo’s and Maria Maglara; his brothers Jim and Art Nicholas; and his grandson Michael Greiner.

George was born in Grand Rapids and at the age of 1 year old, he moved to Greece for the first 18 years of his life. He then returned to the United States where he worked at the family restaurant before he was drafted into the Marines and served in the Korean War for 2 years.  When he returned from Korea, he continued to work at several restaurants where he honed his skills in restaurant operations.  He was first introduced, through photographs, to his wife “Katina” through his mother.  He wrote to her for 2 years before he met her and they fell in love before they met face to face.  He went to Greece to meet her and proposed on the spot. That became a lifelong love affair that lasted for 61 years.  George’s career was spent owning several restaurants where both he and Katina worked together.  George retired from his last restaurant, Breton Village Sidewalk Café, in 1978 at the age of 48. He spent much of his remaining time going to Fables, Panera, Mr. Burger, and McDonalds to visit with many different friend groups.  If you were lucky enough to run into him at these places, it would be easy to find him because it would be the table with the most people seated and where all the laughter was coming from!

George was known for his sense of humor and his love of storytelling. He always enjoyed a good laugh.  He was an easy going, down to earth, fun loving, and proud yet humble man.  He loved life and lived his life to the fullest but never took life too seriously.  He liked to surround himself with younger people as he never felt he was old. George had an extraordinary love of children, and they were drawn to him.  In his younger days he enjoyed bowling, playing tennis, fishing, playing cards, and  smoking cigars but above all he just enjoyed socializing with friends and family. He was proud of both his Greek heritage and his American heritage and always appreciated the opportunities that this country gave him and his family.  He was a member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Grand Rapids where he had many friends. He was deeply devoted to his family and never failed to show his love for all of them often.  If you knew George, you became “his” family quickly. He will be forever known as “the best father ever” and “ best husband” to his family.

His family will greet friends from 5:00-8:00 pm at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Thursday May 14th with the Trisagion Service at 7:30pm. The funeral will be held at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 330 Lakeside Drive NE, Grand Rapids on Friday May 15th at 10:00 am, preceded by a visitation from 9:00am-10:00 am. Interment will be at Rest Lawn Memorial Park with a luncheon following at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.  In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in memory of George Nicholas.

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