Founder of Marblehead House
of Pizza dies
Michael Nicholas Nanis, 77, died Saturday, April 2, 2011, in
Salem Hospital. He was born in Greece, the son of the late Nicholas Nanis
and Eleni Tasis. He was educated in Greece and attended the Police Academy where
he served in Athens. He immigrated to the United States where he met and
married Gianoula Karademos, had three daughters and settled in Salem,
Massachusetts.
Michael started out as a painter; however, his
entrepreneurial character motivated him to open a pizza shop. In 1967, he and his co-founder chose to open
the shop in the heart of Marblehead and named it “The Marblehead House of
Pizza.”
Making pizzas and subs was his passion, and he loved serving
and meeting all the town locals and the many travelers from neighboring towns
who heard about the shop and had to try what was often referred to as “Greek
Pizza.” Many—if not everyone—in
Marblehead knew Michael and often referred to him as “Mikey.”
The House of Pizza has become a Marblehead landmark, and 44
years later is still family owned and, continues to serve the town’s residents
and visitors. Even in his final moments,
Michael beamed when you asked him or spoke about the pizza shop. He was so proud of the Marblehead
establishment that he built and operated.
Surviving are three daughters: Helen Nanis and husband
George Papadopoulos, Maria Nanis and husband Dimitri Nionakis, and Sophia Nanis
and fiancé
Michael Pappas. He is also survived by sisters Theodora Gikas and her
husband Nicholas Gikas, and Athena Malekakis and her husband Vasilios
Malekakis. He is also survived by three grandchildren, Elias,
Chrysovalantou and Eva, and several nieces and nephews.
Memorial
services will be held on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at Berube & Sons Funeral
Home, 191 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA from 5:00-8:00pm, with funeral services
on Thursday, April 7, 2011 at St. Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church, 7 Paleologos
Street, Peabody, Massachusetts at 10:00am with the burial immediately following
at Harmony Grove Cemetery in Peabody, Massachusetts.
Donations
in Michael’s memory can be made to St. Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church for the
Bell Tower Fund and sent St. Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church, 7 Paleologos
Street, Peabody, Massachusetts 01960.
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