Christos Christou

April 3, 1936 - December 26, 2019

Chris “Papou” Christou passed away on December 26 after several years of declining health, and 48 days in the hospital. He is a native of Athens Greece, and was darn proud of it. He was the youngest of 6 children- Michalis Christou (Deceased), Themis Drakos, Yiorgos Christou (Deceased), Spiros Christou (Deceased) and Chryssoula Tsigou. His parents Vasilis and Maria (Sarvanidis) Christou and his wife Barbara Argos were there to greet him in paradise, along with his brothers. He had many nieces and nephews that he loved and adored. He is survived by his son Vasilis (Bill) Christou of Chico, CA, and daughters Leigh Ann Wahlquist and her husband Gary of Running Springs, CA and Christina Christou and her husband, Scott Topor of Norwell, MA. The apple of his eye was his grandson, Owen Christou.
Chris had many lifelong friends including Georgia and Santiago Sanchez, and Terry and Triada Nikitaris.
Chris came to America in 1963, when he hopped off a vessel and never looked back. He wanted the American dream- a wife, a family, a house and to open a restaurant. His goal was to be the next McDonalds. He did open a restaurant named Jolly Boys in Bellflower, CA. He had the best burgers, tacos and pastrami in the country, according to him. He was a teller of tall tales and bad jokes, and when he sneezed he sounded like a car that couldn’t start. Sadly, this last characteristic did not skip the next generation. He liked to dance, but couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. He had a great wanderlust, which he definitely passed on to at least two of his kids. He loved to fish, debate politics, and dispense weird life mottos- (side note you’re going to have to read this next part in a Greek accent)-“toilet paper is the most important paper on the earth!” He loved animals, especially dogs and will no doubt be looking for his super annoying poodle Ouzo and his cat Zorba. He loved to cook and loved to eat. Rumor has it that 50% of his blood is actually just feta. He was extremely superstitious, which his children leveraged to prank him growing up. He loved gardening and spent hours digging irrigation trenches and tending to “his crops”. He kept a pet spider in his van for three months one spring. He forbid us from killing or shooing out “Harvey”. He never quite understood the internet or email, once instructing his youngest daughter to email “the people of Greece to say Chris Christou says hi!” He used to have slips of paper that he would hand out with his daughters email address and he would ask strangers- the grocery clerk, the guy at the post office, a random waiter to email her to tell her that her Dad loved her.
Chris will be interred at the Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier. Please check their web site for details.