Obituary of Stanley Christodlous

Stanley (Stan) Christodlous, 85, of Andover Township, NJ and Meriden, CT, passed away peacefully at home on March 13, 2024.

Stan was born in Jersey City, NJ, on May 3, 1938, a son of the late Sofronios (Sam) Christodlous and Alexandra (Fautas) Christodlous. At an early age, Stan and his family moved to Meriden CT. He always considered Meriden his home. Stan graduated from Meriden High School, class of 1955. He received a degree from the New Haven State Teacher’s College (now Southern Connecticut State University) where he majored in geography education. He excelled in track and field. After graduation, his first job was teaching geography in Westbrook, CT. He went on to teach in several cities across the US. He received a Master of Arts degree from Montclair State College in 1973.

After teaching, Stan moved to publishing. It was at the time of his first publishing job, at Doubleday & Company in Garden City, NY, he met his wife to be, Irene Trakas. His love of geography and social studies propelled him into textbook editing. He worked for several prestigious publishers. In 1965, he took a position at Silver Burdett in Morristown, NJ where he worked until his retirement. Under Stan’s leadership, his department developed several award-winning social science curricula. As Executive Editor at Silver Burdett, Stan led the team that wrote the “World and Its People” program. World and Its People became the bestselling social studies program in the country. He went on to create other successful school programs such as The Silver Burdett Social Studies and People in Time and Place. In his career with Silver Burdett, Stan had the opportunity to travel extensively. He visited almost every state in United States and a lengthy list of countries abroad. He spent time in Athens, Rome, London, Paris, Brussels, Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow, Montreal, Toronto, and Constantinople. He retired from Silver Burdett in 1991 as Vice President, Director for Editorial Staff Development and Special Projects.

After retirement, Stan now had the time to concentrate on old hobbies and pursue new ones. Stan was a book lover, particularly books about history. He loved to bake, especially desserts! He built a woodworking shop in the basement and crafted many cabinets and pieces of furniture. You could not visit Stan’s shop without going home with a handmade, wooden pen or a chopping board. Stan embraced the computer. Being the retired editor, he spent hours organizing and documenting all facets of his life. With Irene’s help, Stan started a maple sugaring operation. Having thirty or so maple trees on the property, Stan learned all he could about creating maple syrup. It was always a pleasure visiting Stan in February and March to collect maple sap and help sample the finished product. Family members fought for those coveted bottles of liquid gold! He enjoyed sports and was a lifelong NY Yankees fan. He was an avid fan of the women’s basketball team at the University of Connecticut.

Among Stan’s admirable qualities were his generosity and love of family. He and Irene hosted many holiday parties and attended every family get-together no matter how much driving was involved. He wanted to share his love of travel with the ones he loved. He organized several family trips, including visits to Bermuda, Jamacia, Quebec, and Cyprus. His love, generosity and insight into life will be greatly missed.

Stan is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Irene (Trakas) of Andover Township, NJ and his son Matthew Christodlous of Piscataway, NJ. He was predeceased by his beloved brothers Chris and Chris’ wife Delta, George, Jimmy, and Jimmy’s wife Denise. He is also survived by George’s wife Marina and his sister-in-law Marianne Trakas Schmidt and her husband Frank Schmidt.

He will be deeply missed by his nieces and nephews, Teresa Seymour, Angela Orlich, Linda Ferioli and her husband David, Michael Christodlous, Alexandria (Sandy) Nordstrom and her husband Brian, Charles Christodlous and his wife Cheryl and Sam Christodlous and his wife Helen, Jeffrey Schmidt, Darren Schmidt, Amy Schuchman, and Laura Schmidt. Many great-nephews and great-nieces will truly miss their Uncle Stanley.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Tuttle Funeral Home, 272 NJ-10, Randolph, NJ 07869.  Please see their website for more information or to leave an online condolence for the family. There will be a public visitation on Saturday, March 16, 2024, from 2:00 – 5:00 pm with Trisagion at 4:30 at Tuttle Funeral Home.  Then there will be services at the Wallingford Funeral Home, 809 N Main Street Ext., Wallingford, CT 06492.  Services will be held at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 301 W. Main Street, New Britain, CT  06052. Burial will be in Walnut Grove Cemetery, 817 Old Colony Road, Meriden CT 06451

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following or a charity of your choice:

• St Andrew Greek Orthodox Church, 1447 Sussex Turnpike, Randolph NJ 07869
• VNA  - Visiting Nurse Association of North Jersey 175 South Street, Morristown NJ 07960
• Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice 99 Sparta Ave., Newton NJ 07860

In the end it's not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.

Abraham Lincoln