Longtime reporter "Gus" Angelos never lost boundless enthusiasm for the job

Constantine "Gus" Angelos, who died Monday at 75, displayed many talents in his 40-year career as a reporter at The Seattle Times, but only one speed: All out.

"Right up until he retired in 1995, Gus had a zeal for reporting I had never seen before," said Janet Horne Henderson, his last editor at The Times. "Big story or small, it didn't matter ... he'd grab his coat, his wool scarf and a notebook and be out the door before others in the newsroom even knew what was going on."

So boundless was Mr. Angelos' energy that when he retired, then-Times Managing Editor Alex MacLeod called him "a combination of almost perpetual motion, self deprecation and pure zeal. ... He's not the kind who stands still long enough for an anecdote to be told."

Mr. Angelos spent most of his career reporting on education and the Seattle Public Schools but also covered community issues, local government and breaking news of every sort.

"Gus embodied all the qualities we aspire to have as a newspaper," said The Times' managing editor, David Boardman. "Passion. Expertise. A commitment to the community. And most importantly, integrity."

As devoted as he was to his profession, though, those who knew him best say his twin top priorities were faith and family.

"He was an extremely dedicated husband and father," said Olga Angelos, his wife of 45 years. While the couple's four sons were growing, "He did not miss a single concert, a single ball game ... family and church were the fiber of our life."

A devout Orthodox Christian, Mr. Angelos was a founding member of St. Nectarios American Orthodox Church, where he was a chanter and a subdeacon.

For 35 years, Mr. Angelos and his wife published the church's newsletter and for much of that time, printed it on a small press in their basement.

"They would sometimes come bleary-eyed to church because they had been working late at night writing, editing, printing, doing whatever was necessary," said the Rev. Neketas Palassis, a longtime family friend who presided at the couple's wedding in 1961.

Mr. Angelos also served as parish president, council member and, as the council's secretary, took the most detailed meeting notes imaginable, Palassis said.

"He recorded everything. You could read those minutes and feel you were at the meeting yourself. Sometimes I would tell him, 'You really don't have to write down everything everybody said.' "

Another example of his thorough record-keeping: When Mr. Angelos retired and was told the newspaper didn't want his files, he donated nine boxes of material to the Seattle School District. Dale Stirling, an assistant archivist who recently completed sorting the paperwork, said the collection has "permanent historical value" for its details on issues such as desegregation, budgets and school closures.

In retirement, Mr. Angelos drew special joy from being around his six grandsons and four granddaughters, all under the age of 10. "He would play with them, read to them, he would be at birthday parties, T-ball games, ballet performances," his wife said.

Born to immigrant Greek parents in Elma, Grays Harbor County, and raised in Olympia, Mr. Angelos was 11 when his father died. He grew up in poverty, an experience that instilled in him a concern for society's less fortunate. To help with household expenses, he sold newspapers and worked at a bakery.

"I was always impressed that he could come from that difficult background, with an immigrant mother who spoke no English, and managed to be valedictorian of his high-school class," said his son, Paul Angelos of Seattle.

It was during high school that Mr. Angelos began to help keep baseball statistics for the Olympia newspaper.

He won an academic scholarship to St. Martin's College in Olympia, graduating with a degree in political science. His made his first trip to his parents' homeland in 1952, when he won a Fulbright scholarship to study at the Panteios School of Political Science in Athens.

After a short stint at the Olympia newspaper, he was hired at The Times in 1955, which he described as a dream come true. "I wanted to come to this newspaper so bad, I would have done whatever they told me. I'd have polished the reporters' boots," he said years later. "I'd have run through fire to get a story if they'd said to."

For Mr. Angelos, getting the day's news to Seattle Times readers often meant more than just writing articles. When two of the couple's sons were young, they got Seattle Times newspaper routes. But as the press of school activities increased, the job of delivering papers shifted to their mother, assisted by Mr. Angelos.

The couple also helped sons Paul and Nick, of Silver Lake, Snohomish County, run Scoops at Seattle Center, the food concession at the Fun Forest.

"He did a little bit of everything," said Paul Angelos. "He'd do our payroll, our taxes, pick up supplies for us, man registers, take orders, scoop ice cream, clean tables — even take our deposits to the bank."

Recalls Mrs. Angelos, "He even learned how to make a very good latte, with unbelievable foam, holding it at just the right angle. I never thought he would have the patience for that, but he did."

Mr. Angelos is also survived by sons Allen of Athens, Greece, and Christopher of Snohomish.

His funeral will be 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Nectarios American Orthodox Church, 10300 Ashworth Ave. N., Seattle, with a Trisagion service at the church at 7 p.m. Friday.

Remembrances may be sent to the St. Nectarios Benevolent Fund, 10300 Ashworth Ave. N., Seattle, 98133.

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com