Alexander Spyro Papademetriou

Alexander Papademetriou, 92, a retired engineer, died from COVID-19 complications on January 9, 2021 at the Virginia Hospital Center. Mr. Papademetriou, who lived in Arlington, Virginia since 1958, was born in Athens, Greece on July 21, 1928. His father was born in Krikelo, a small village in the center part of Karpenisi. He spent many summers vacationing in Krikelo, which is in the mountains. Krikelo was dear to his heart. His parents are buried there. He studied at a French school run by Jesuit monks and graduated in 1946. Following that, he graduated from Athens University he then took an examination to enter the Military Academy following in his dads footsteps. He came to the USA in 1958 as a military exchange officer where he met his wife, Despina and married on December 13, 1958. They spent their wedding night at the Astoir Hotel and the next day they went on their honeymoon to the island of Rhodes. After their honeymoon they came back to DC and settled in Arlington ,Virginia. He went on to graduate school at Catholic University in 1963, graduating the first in his class of engineers. He was selected to be a member of the honorary fraternity TBΠ for engineers and SΣ, honorary fraternity for scientists. In 1966 he joined the Federal government, General Services Administration,GSA, and was responsible for the design and construction and maintenance of all Federal government buildings he was there for 4 years and then went to the Bureau of Prions Program where he stayed for 7 years. Leaving the Bureau of Prisons, he moved and ran the Construction Management Division of GSA responsible for the West Coast programs. A few years later he become the Director of the Construction Management Division with the responsibility to oversee GSA’s design and construction program nationwide. In 1989 he was consulting in construction management for private construction companies including HOK and CRSS among others. In 1988, he joined Heery International where he was Vice President of Marketing nationwide. His passions included collecting coins, stamps and loving his children, Spyros and Artemis, and his three grandchildren Alexandra, Sophia and Alexander. He also enjoyed weekly poker games with his tight-knit group of buddies. Mr. Papademetriou was a member of St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Bethesda, MD. Survivors include daughter Artemis Papademetriou, son Spyro Papademetriou, daughter –in-law Kristen, and grandchildren Alexandra, Sophia, and Alexander, and brother Kostas Papadimitriou. His wife ,Despina Papademetriou, died 15 years ago from cancer. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to S.O.M.E (So Others Might Eat) at 71 O St. NW, Washington, DC 20001 or to Saint Basils Orphanage, home for children in need, to: Saint Basils Orphanage, 79 Saint Basil Road Garrison,NY 10524.