Katherine R. (Peters) Nousis

A Funeral Service will be held at 11:00am on Thursday, January 20 in The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1319 Main St., Fitchburg. Calling hours are from 9:30-11:00 in the Church prior to the service. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery, Fitchburg. Masks are to be worn for the services. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1319 Main St. Fitchburg, MA 01420.



Today a guiding light was extinguished at the passing of our mother, Katherine Peters Nousis at the age of 102. She was the daughter of Louis and Antigone (Catches) Peters, Greek immigrants from Albania. Katherine was born on December 10, 1919. She was a 1937 graduate of Fitchburg High School. After high school she worked at various factories to help support her family. Katherine married Spiros Nousis in 1941 and they moved to Clinton, MA where she worked in various department stores. She made many lifelong friends with women from Clinton and missed the warmth of that friendly city when they returned home to Fitchburg when her mother became ill. Katherine valued her family, her faith, and the importance of hard work. She was constantly taking courses in Adult Education Classes that the city offered. She wanted to improve her skills. Those skills lead her to a secretarial position at General Electric in the early fifties. A business opportunity arose in 1965 when she and her husband Spike purchased C&M Pizza in Leominster, MA. Without any previous experience in the food industry, they made a success of their business and Katherine went on to open Katie’s Korner in Fitchburg, The Colony Pizza in Ayer and the Delphi Restaurant in Leominster. Katherine had incredible business acumen, as we were told by many food suppliers at the time. She was fearless and tireless in trying anything new. She was the first to bring Mexican food to her store in Ayer. She was a wonderful cook, hosting many parties during her marriage, especially for her husband’s Name Day, when many people were at her table experiencing delicious dishes. She sewed, knitted, worked with leather and was an avid reader, always trying to improve her mind and satisfy her curiosity about the world around her. Upon retiring she babysat for her grandchildren instilling in them her values for honesty thoughtfulness, kindness and hard work. She grew up in the years of the Depression and that impacted her life, greatly. Her question of the day was “what did you accomplish today?” Katherine was a PTO member at her daughter’s schools, she belonged to The Ladies Hope Society (Elpis) at her church, Order of the Eastern Star and participated in many functions at the Masonic Hall at the Charles W. Moore Lodge. Katherine and Spike traveled to Greece often to visit their family. They went to Albania when the borders finally opened up after being closed by the Communist government in 1937 so they could meet and see their family. They took a few guided tours of many countries in Europe and the United States. Katherine is survived by her three loving and appreciative daughters, Virginia Hurtubise, Barbara Lambropoulos, and Joanne Anderson. Her grandchildren, Paula Lynde (Scott), Elizabeth Philbin, Panayiotis Lambropoulos (Tara), Katherine L. Gaetz (Kenneth), Penelope L. Xanthakis (Jason), Alexis Rodriquez (Roderick) and Gregory Anderson. Her special niece, Ann Trodello and Godson, Michael Peters and nieces and nephews. Katherine had eleven great grandchildren and eight great great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents, her husband of fifty eight years, Spiros Nousis, her sister Vasiliki Mandilas, her brothers James and Peter, her grandson Michael Philbin, her great grandsons Matthew Philbin and Keith Rahaim. She also lost her two sons-in-law John Lambropoulos and Alan Anderson. The family would like to thank everyone at Sunrise Assisted Living for the warm and tender care their mother received during the seven years she resided there as well as the Health Alliance Hospice. It has been said: Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal.