Achilles “Mike or Ike” Stathas

Achilles “Mike” or “Ike” Stathas passed away on January 3, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona at the age of 96. He was born December 1, 1925, the son of Harry and Mary Stathas in Milwaukee. He was the eldest of three children.

Mike attended Milwaukee Boys Tech High School and left after two years. In 1944 he enlisted in the Air Corps at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. During WWII he became an Airplane Armorer Gunner in a B-29 aircraft and earned the rank of Sergeant. He completed 34 missions, 30 of them being in combat, over enemy occupied territory of Japan within 6 months with the 73rd Bombardment Wing, 497th Bombardment Group, 870th Bombardment Squadron.

After returning home from WWII, he completed a four-year apprenticeship in the employ of Milwaukee Area Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee at the trade of Carpentry in 1950. He applied his skills in both residential and commercial construction. One of his proudest projects was constructing the tallest building in Wisconsin; previously called the First Wisconsin Center.

Shortly after meeting Janet at a local church picnic, they married in 1951 at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Sheboygan. They lived in Milwaukee until 1968 when he began the design and build of a beautiful home for his family on the bluff of Lake Michigan in Port Washington. They raised their children until they retired to Scottsdale, Arizona in 1993. Upon arrival to Scottsdale, they joined Assumption Greek Orthodox Church.

Mike consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic and held high standards in several aspects of his life. At times, he worked two jobs to provide for his family as a real estate broker and carpenter. As a testament to his craftsmanship and attention-to-detail, friends and family would frequently ask him for his help to fix and build things.

During Mike’s retirement, he joined the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, was a member of the American Legion. He loved to travel (especially to his timeshare at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido, California), trade in the stock market, watch Fox News, war movies and documentaries, play solitaire on his computer and phone, and do crossword and word search puzzles. He was a loyal Green Bay Packers fan. He had unexpected, dry sense of humor which caught family and friends by surprise on a regular basis.

Mike is survived by his wife of 70 years, Janet (nee Christus), and his daughters, Dianne (Dennis) Hughes of Plymouth, WI, and Linda (Scott) Thompson of Richmond, TX. He will be remembered as a special “Pouli” to his four grandchildren, Angela Rehbein (Eric), Jennifer Lemberger, Anthony Lemberger and Victoria Thompson, three step-grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, his two great-great grandchildren, and many other family members. He is preceded in death by his parents, his brother John Stathas, and his sister, Jane Falconer.

WE LOVE YOU, WE WILL MISS YOU, BUT YOU’LL BE IN OUR HEARTS FOREVER.

Visitation at Sts. Constantine & Helen Church, 2160 North Wauwatosa Avenue, Wauwatosa, on Monday, February 14, 2022, from 10:00 AM until time of Funeral Service at 12:00. Burial to follow at Pinelawn Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a charitable donation to Hospice of the Valley, www.hov.org or Wounded Warrior Project www.woundedwarriorproject.org in Mike’s name.