Lefteris "Lefty" Lavrakas
Posted Friday, Jul 29th, 2011
Lefteris "Lefty" Lavrakas, 91, of Newport, Ore., died July 21, 2011 in Newport.
He was born Oct. 18, 1919 to Apostle and Fotini Lavrakas in Watertown, Mass. He was raised in Watertown, the youngest of four sons of Greek immigrants. He was known to friends and family as Lefty. He attended Watertown High School with a straight A average and was captain of his baseball team.
After high school, he attended Wilbraham Academy in preparation for his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. A member of the class of 1943, he graduated in 1942, since the courses were accelerated by one year for the war effort. From 1942 to 1949, Lefty served aboard four operational units on sea duty, including service in the Atlantic, Caribbean, North Africa, Mediterranean, and Pacific during World War II and in post-war occupation duty. He continued his career with the Navy until 1970.
He married Billye on June 25, 1945 in Long Beach, Calif.
He retired from the Navy in 1970 at the rank of captain and moved to Costa Mesa, Calif., where he and Billye lived for 37 years. He returned to college under the GI Bill, receiving a master's in political science and PhD in education (research in staff development in community colleges). Also while in Costa Mesa, he helped found the Save Our Youth center, a youth violence prevention center, and conducted sailing classes for inner city youth. Lefty and Billye moved to Newport in 2007 to be closer to family members. He and Billye were married for 66 years at the time of her passing in 2010.
In service to his country, he received the Bronze Star, Presidential Unit Citation with Combat (Asiatic - Pacific and European). He also received the Orde van Oranje-Nassau from Queen Juliana of The Netherlands. Lefty was inducted into the Watertown Massachusetts Hall of Fame in 2004.
He cherished the arts, in particular poetry. He loved attending the Newport Symphony and the Metropolitan Opera in Newport, and conducting a poetry reading group at the Newport Senior Activity Center. Lefty is remembered for his intelligence, wit, warmth and good will to others.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Billye Lavrakas; and his daughter, Char-lee Lavrakas Hill.
He is survived by his children, Paula (Richard) Jayne Lavrakas Bray of Ventura, Calif., John (Melody) William Lavrakas of Newport, and Debra (Douglas) Lavrakas Palm of Beaverton, Calif.; son-in-law Russell Hill of Tustin, Calif.; stepson Eric Bray of San Clemente, Calif.; stepdaughter Heather Bray of Anaheim, Calif.; brother John Lavrakas; and grandchildren, Miranda (Nick) Lavrakas Wood of Salem; James Lavrakas (Aubriana Zurilgen) of Glendale, Calif., Robert Lavrakas of Newport, Garrett Palm of Brooklyn, N.Y., Emily (Matthew) Palm Mulica of Dillon, Colo., Chelsea Palm of Beaverton, Ore., Daniel (Erin) Hill of Victoria, B.C., Laura (John) Hill Lochen of Littleton, Colo., Robyn (Martin) Hill Gonzalez of Tustin, Calif. and Steven Resnick of Richmond, Va.
There will be no public memorial service. Memorial donations may be made to: St. Anne Orthodox Church, in support of Newport Mission, c/o Father Stephen Soot; Save Our Youth, 661 Hamilton St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627 or St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church, 4949 Alton Pkwy, Irvine, CA 92604.
Affordable Burial and Cremation is handling arrangements.