Chris Brous, age 98, passed away peacefully on November 23, 2017. The son of Peter and Olga Brous, he was born in Philadelphia in 1919. His mother died when he was only 4 years old and he was sent to live with relatives. In 1927 his Aunt Theodora took her three children, Chris and his sister to live in Greece. He received his early education at the School of Metaxas, one of the best boarding schools in Greece. He was thrilled to have the opportunity to dance in traditional costume before the crowds in the Stadium of Athens in a ceremony honoring the Greek teams as they prepared for the 1928 Olympics. He returned to New York City in 1930 as a fourth-grade student.
When he graduated from high school he went to live with his older brother in Baltimore. He earned money for his college education at Johns Hopkins University by working for his brother servicing slot machines and pinball machines. He later transferred to the College of Engineering at the Washington Heights Campus of New York University.
In his junior year he left college to enlisted in the Army. He was selected to be in the first Corps of Engineers Officer Candidate School. Rising to the rank of Captain, he commanded the 23rd Armored Engineer Battalion in Europe during World War II and was recognized for his heroism with a Bronze star. He sustained significant war injuries and was granted a disability retirement in 1945. Chris returned to NYU to complete his college education and receive a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering.
He entered the workforce as a Development Engineer of gas turbines for power systems. In 1950, he redirected his efforts to the development of nuclear reactor components initially for the nuclear submarine, Nautilus at the Argonne Laboratory and then at AMF for the production reactors at Savannah River. This led to work for the next 20 years at the nuclear divisions of AMF, North American Aviation and General Atomic/Gulf Oil in directing the development and manufacture of nuclear reactor systems in the USA and many other countries. After a further 10 years involvement in the management of the engineering and construction of nuclear power plant facilities around the world he retired in 1984 as Vice President of Ebasco Services.
He was happily married for 70 years to his wife Elsie and together they actively participated in the church life in several church communities. He was recognized for his contribution to the Greek Orthodox faith by being named an Archon, the highest honor bestowed on a lay person.
In addition to his wife, Chris is survived by his children Dorothy Paleologos and James Brous; and his wife Mary Scherer; grandchild Valerie Brous Peppler and her husband Michael, and grandchild Maria Green, her husband Larry and their three children, Cal, Ben and Anna. His devotion to his family was recognized by his church in 2012 by being named Father of the Year.
The wake will be held on Tuesday, November 28 at 4:00 until 7:00pm with a Trisagion service at 6pm at Dillon Baxter Funeral Home, 1276 Berlin Tpk. Wethersfield, CT. The funeral will be held on Wednesday, November 29 at 10:00 am at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 433 Fairfield Ave. Hartford, CT and internment will be at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich on Thursday, November 30 at 11 am. Memorial donations may be made to St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral or the Red Cross. To share a memory with the family, please visit www.dillonbaxter.com