John "Babe" Menas

June 8 th , 1927 – June 13 th , 2020

John Menas was born on June 8 th , 1927 in East Pittsburgh, PA to the late George and Stella Menas and passed away peacefully at his home in the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego of natural causes on June 13 th , 2020, just 5 days after celebrating his 93 rd birthday.  He was the youngest of 8 children and his family and close friends gave him the nickname of "Babe" as most knew him by.  He was certainly part of the "Greatest Generation."

Growing up, his family was very proud of their Greek heritage. He and his siblings had to attend Greek school after American school so John became fluent in Greek as well as English.  John played football and basketball for his high school as well as many Greek youth leagues organized by his church.  His nose was broken 3 times in football as he was a running back.  In those days, players wore leather helmets with no face protection.

Just a week after graduating from East Pittsburgh High School, John was on his way for basic training and served proudly in the U.S. Navy in WWII.  He served on the Yard Minesweeper YMS 196 in the South Pacific.  Upon entering the service, all 5 boys in his family were in WWII at the same time.  Fortunately, all 5 survived.

After returning from the war, John married Cleoniki Apostolidis on July 4 th , 1954 at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Youngstown, OH.  Their 66 th wedding anniversary would have been in just 3 weeks.  They had 3 children born in East Pittsburgh and eventually moved the family to San Diego where Cleo's family settled.

Continuing in his Greek heritage, John and Cleo were founding members of Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox church in Cardiff, CA.  John served on the church's BOD for many years and oversaw cooking the souvlakia at the church's food and dance festivals for almost 40 years.

John retired from Georgia Pacific Corporation at the age of 65 but never slowed down.  He worked for many years after his official retirement at the Canyonside tennis courts in Rancho Penasquitos and loved the interaction with all the players.  They also adored him for all of his constant humor.

His lifelong passions were to follow the Steelers, Padres, and all SDSU Aztec sports.  He was a lifetime bowler and once had a 700 series.  John bowled, played cards with his Greek buddies, drove his stick-shift pickup, and puffed his Marsh Wheeling cigars into his 90's.

Surviving members of his family include his wife Cleo, daughters Melanie Dickson (Alan) and Estelle Stone (Kent), son Mark Menas (Susie) and 6 grandchildren, Danielle, Joseph, Mark (Laura), Luke, John, and Alex.  Also, he leaves behind 2 sisters-in-law, Bette Menas of North Versailles, PA and Bente Pantell of Boise, ID, along with many nieces and nephews.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Trisagion and funeral services will be limited to immediate family.  Interment will be at Dearborn Memorial Park, Poway, CA.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 3459 Manchester Ave., Cardiff, CA  92007 in John's name.  A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

The family would like to thank Sharp Hospice for their care and compassion as well as Kaminski's Restaurant for their amazing community outreach.  John will be deeply missed by all that knew and loved him.