Peter Nitis

Peter’s parents, Nicholas and Kalotina Nitis, were born on the Aegean island of Kalymnos, which belongs to the Dodecanesa. Kalotina’s great uncle, the priest-monk Ierotheos Kourounis (1844-92), is a beloved saint of Kalymnos whose relics still exude a beautiful fragrance over 100 years after his repose. Nicholas immigrated to America alone at age 16 to work selling hot dogs in Coney Island. He returned to Kalymnos for his arranged marriage to Kalotina and then went back to America to begin their life together. They made Gary, Indiana, their home, where three of their five children were born, Peter (Paraskevas) being the oldest. Nicholas worked in the steel mills and eventually became a bridge painter. During the Depression, Nicholas sent his young family to Kalymnos since he could not support them, but had them come back shortly for Europe was in the throes of war. The family moved to New York in the late 30’s and resided first in Hell’s Kitchen, the upper Manhattan where two more children were born. From there, they went to various locations in the Bronx and eventually settled on Blackrock Ave. Peter completed elementary school at P.S. 165 in Manhattan but that was the extent of his education. He spent most of his youth hanging out on street corners evading truant officers and dodging the police baton of “Johnny the Cop.” Young “Palouka”, as he was called, did time in reform school from which he actually escaped. His childhood adventures also included a two-week hitchhiking stint across the country to California where he spent approximately 10 minutes. On his return, he sought out his Nouno and Nouna in Gary, Indiana. At 16, Peter joined the army to secure a draft card so he could drink in bars. He ended up serving seven months in Korea, and was honorably discharged. Following his father’s footsteps, Peter became a bridge painter at 17 and began to settle down. This trade was passed on to his three sons: Nicholas, Gregory and George. Peter first met Diana in 1950 at the annual dance of the Greek American Institute at the Commodore Hotel in Manhattan. She was 18 and he was 22. He asked her to dance and then for her phone number. She was hesitant because he claimed to be Italian. Nonetheless, she dated him a few times during which she felt quite comfortable speaking Greek with her best friend Mary Conelias, in his presence thinking he did not understand. For example, she expressed her concern to Mary in Greek about his car with its fold-down seats and nefarious reputation. She decided to break it off on the third date thinking he was not Greek, when to her shock and amazement he began to speak Greek fluently to a family friend. Within two years, they were married and moved into the apartment of the house of Nicholas and Kalotina Nitis on Blackrock Ave. in the Bronx. He worked as a bridge painter and she was employed in a bank. Peter made a move from the Bridge Painters Union to the Teamsters Union because it afforded them more security. Diana gave birth to two of five children in the Bronx apartment, Nicholas and Virginia. In 1959 they bought a house in College Point, Queens, where they had their remaining children: Gregory, George and Maria. Peter and Diana’s greatest priority has been and still is an unstinting devotion to their family, a blessing which has resulted in five married children, two married grandchildren, 16 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild with another on the way. **IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, KINDLY MAKE MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTION IN HONOUR OF PETER NITIS TO: SAINT NEKTARIOS GREEK ORTHODOX MONASTERY 100 LAKE ANAWANDA ROAD ROSCOE, NEW YORK, 12776 TEL # 1-607-498-5285 FAX # 1-607-498-5468