Fotios N. Kourtis, 93, of West Roxbury, MA, passed away on August 22, 2019. Beloved husband of Anastasia (Georgaklis) Kourtis. Devoted father of Nicholas Kourtis and his wife Jane, and William Kourtis. Loving grandfather of Fotios Kourtis and his wife Rachel, Anastasia Kurkuvelos and her husband Alexander, Dimitri Kourtis, and Susan Athanasia Kourtis.  Pre-deceased by his five siblings: Theodora Petrohilou, Efstathia Levahidou, Athanasios Kourkoutas, Vasiliki Miggas, of Greece, and Tryphon Kourtis of West Roxbury.  Survived by sisters-in-law Konstantoula Kourtis of West Roxbury, wife of the late Tryphon Kourtis, Voula Maheras of Manthyrea (Kapareli), Arkadia, Greece, wife of the late Periklis Maheras, Christina Kopellas of Dedham, wife of the late Frank Kopellas, and Nitsa Georgaklis of West Roxbury, wife of the late George Georgaklis. Beloved uncle to many nieces and nephews, here and in Greece.  All will miss him greatly.

Fotios was born in the mountainous village of Proussos, Evrytania, Greece.  He was raised in a pious family with the security of the Holy  Monastery of Panagia Proussiotissa providing the foundation for his childhood. His family attributed its survival to Panagia Proussiotissa during the Nazi occupation and subsequent Greek Civil War. At one point, the Nazi Army was preparing to burn the entire monastery in retribution for the monastery's housing of Greek resistance fighters. Fotios witnessed his father Nikolaos Kourtis organize a group of villagers to confront the Nazi Army Commander at the doors of the church housing the holy icon of Panagia Prousiotissa. His father convinced the Nazi Army Commander that the resistance fighters had left, and to spare the church and save the holy icon.

Fotios carried with him his love for the Orthodox faith when he immigrated to America in 1955. He lived in Winthrop with his uncle and aunt, James and Sophia Pappas, and became a steward at the Annunciation Cathedral of Boston. It was there he married Anastasia Georgaklis in 1960. He worked as a waiter at the Somerset Hotel on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston until it closed in 1970 and then he worked at Jimmy's Harborside Restaurant as a waiter and maître d' until his retirement in 1996.

A resident of West Roxbury for 58 years, Fotios is a founding member of the Saint Nectarios parish. He worked tirelessly with a small group to build support and membership for the new community, raise funds door-to-door and purchase its current edifice in Roslindale Village. He has served on the parish council and many other committees. He was a member of AHEPA Chapter #406, Watertown, MA. In 1983, he was a founding member of the Roumelis Society, a charitable organization which unites and promotes fellowship among Greek Americans from Evrytania (Karpenisi). He was the 2006 Metropolis of Boston Laity Award recipient  from his beloved Saint Nectarios Church.

Funeral Service on Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at Saint Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church, 39 Belgrade Ave., Roslindale, MA at 11:30 AM.  Visiting hours on Monday, August 26, 2019 at the church from 5 PM to 8 PM.  In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Saint Nectarios Church.  Burial in The Gardens Cemetery, West Roxbury, MA.