Evans Manolides, 88, Former Judge
As a young boy, Evans Manolides was marched at bayonet point from his family's island home to a camp 300 miles into the Turkish countryside.
Years later, he remembered vividly the "three nightmare years" living in the camp, a prisoner because of his Greek heritage.
It was an experience that Mr. Manolides carried with him as he studied law and pursued his goal to become a judge.
Mr. Manolides, former King County deputy prosecutor, Seattle District Court judge and active, 58-year member of the Rainier Golf and Country Club, died Thursday. He was 88.
"What a great opportunity that you could rise to whatever you wanted to become. My dad was very proud of the fact that he was a judge," said Evans Manolides Jr.
Mr. Manolides was born in Istanbul, Turkey, to Greek parents in 1907. In 1919, he emigrated with his siblings and mother to join his father in the United States. His father, Demetrio Manolides, co-founded Manolides Brothers Produce Co., a longtime Seattle market.
Mr. Manolides spent some time working in the produce store as a boy, but focused his energies in the classroom. He graduated from Broadway High School (now closed) and the University of Washington. He was admitted to the Washington State Bar Association in 1932.
He married Alexandra Pishue, to whom he was wed for 33 years. The couple raised two sons and a daughter.
Mr. Manolides was appointed King County deputy prosecutor in 1936, and served as a municipal judge pro tem for several years in the late 1940s and early '50s. In 1957, he was appointed a judge in Seattle District Court, then a justice-of-the-peace court. He continued to serve on the District Court bench until he lost a re-election bid in 1974.
During his years on the bench, Mr. Manolides spent time trying to dissuade first-time offenders from a life of crime.
"He'd always want to give a person a break," his son said. "He'd give them a stern lecture from the bench. He threw a scare into it."
If the talk didn't work and the offender ended up back in Judge Manolides' courtroom, he'd throw the book at them, his son said. As a District Court judge, Mr. Manolides focused much of his energy on forcing delinquent fathers to make child-support payments.
When he wasn't in the courtroom, Mr. Manolides could be found fishing the waters of Puget Sound or working on his single-digit handicap at the Rainier Golf and Country Club.
Mr. Manolides, a devoted Christian and former president of the board of elders of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, was also a member of the Poggie Club, the Washington State Seniors Golf Association, the Footprinters and the Elks.
"He was always cracking jokes and having a lot of fun," his son said.
He was especially jovial on a September day in 1940, when he pulled a 39-pound, 4-ounce king salmon from Elliott Bay to win a $1,000 prize in a Seattle Times fishing derby. For years afterward, his license plate read "3904."
Mr. Manolides is also survived by son Jim Manolides of Seattle; daughter Sandy Parnell and her husband, Roy, of Edmonds; sisters Mary Formuzis and her husband, Pete, of Tacoma and Sophia, of Greece; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
A graveside service was scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Lake View Cemetery in Seattle. Remembrances are suggested to the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, c/o President John Corts, 1300 Harmon Place, Minneapolis, MN 55403.