John James Pappas

John James Pappas died on April 19, 2020, having endured a long battle with dementia and ultimately contracting Covid-19. John was born in Elkton, Maryland, on August 11, 1933, to James and Sotiria Pappas. He served in the US Army and then received his undergraduate degree from Hillsdale College, Michigan, and teaching certification in Spanish as well as an MBA from Michigan State. After traveling Europe and teaching in Greece and Barcelona, Spain, he joined the Dept. of Defense overseas school system being stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, and Heidelberg,Germany. During his 34 year career with DoDDS, he taught Spanish, English and business classes. John and his wife, Sheri Lu, met while teaching in Stuttgart. They raised their two sons, Peter and Alex in Germany but returned most summers to be with grandparents in Delaware and Minnesota. John had a love of golf, family travel, and learning new languages. Upon retirement, John and Sheri Lu returned to live in Rochester, MN. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Nicholas and sister Bertha. He is survived by his wife, Sheri Lu, a son Peter (Wen) of Oakland, CA, a son Alex (Mya Kagan) of Brooklyn, NY. He has one grandchild Shan Lu Pappas. Sagapo, Yanni.