SPANOS, CHARLES STRATTON Charles Stratton Spanos, 57, of Montevallo, died on June 15, 2009. Born in Birmingham, AL on May 24, 1952, and raised in the Bush Hills community, he graduated from Ensley High School in 1970, received an Associate in Electronics (Engineering Technology) degree and honored with the Outstanding Student Award from UEI in 1973, and completed his B.S. in Computer Science at UAB in 1994. Throughout his working life, Charles was an electronics and computer technician and network engineer for UAB, Honeywell Information Systems, Humphrey Instruments, and Northern Telecom (Nortel). He was most recently employed by Pomeroy IT Solutions in Birmingham. A lifelong amateur radio enthusiast holding the Extra Class license N4DKE, he was a member of the Birmingham Amateur Radio Club, the Shelby County Amateur Radio Club, and the national Amateur Radio Relay League. He gave generously of his time to these organizations by serving in various elected and appointed offices, organizing annual local amateur radio Field Days, making many informative and entertaining presentations, and installing and maintaining radio repeaters in the greater Birmingham area. In 1993 he and his brother Michael had the unusual honor of sharing the citizenship award presented by the Birmingham Amateur Radio Club. This recognition was special because it had never been given jointly to brothers before. A man of many interests, Charles enjoyed tinkering with and repairing antique radios as well as anything electronic or mechanical. He was well known among his peers for his skills in troubleshooting. One of his proudest personal accomplishments was the erection of a 100 foot tall radio antenna tower at his home in north Chilton County which allowed him to talk with other radio operators around the world as well as astronauts orbiting in outer space. He loved to hunt and fish and enjoyed being in the outdoors with his father until his death in 1993. Jimmie showed him the ways of the woods as a boy, and Charles took particular pride in having done the same for his own son, Johnathan. A jokester of the first order, Charles was an endless source of jokes and humorous anecdotes for his network of family, loyal friends and business acquaintances. He was an avid World War II aviation buff and a committed fan of Star Trek. Charles was a lifelong member of Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Michael J. Spanos and Philothea P. Spanos; his maternal grandparents Efstratios I. Hagefstration and Martha K. Hagefstration; and his father, James M. Spanos. Charles is survived by his mother, Smaragdi (Margie) Hagefstration Spanos, Birmingham; a brother, Michael J. Spanos (Mary), Alabaster; a sister, Antoinette Spanos Nordan (Clay), Birmingham; a son, Johnathan Spanos (Amanda), Hayden; and two grandchildren Jada and Cadence Spanos, Hayden. Visitation will be at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17 at the Cathedral with Trisagion service to follow at 7:00 p.m. Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 18 at the Cathedral with burial to follow at Elmwood Cemetery. Father Paul Costopoulos officiating.
SPANOS, CHARLES STRATTON Charles Stratton Spanos, 57, of Montevallo, died on June 15, 2009. Born in Birmingham, AL on May 24, 1952, and raised in the Bush Hills community, he graduated from Ensley High School in 1970, received an Associate in Electronics (Engineering Technology) degree and honored with the Outstanding Student Award from UEI in 1973, and completed his B.S. in Computer Science at UAB in 1994. Throughout his working life, Charles was an electronics and computer technician and network engineer for UAB, Honeywell Information Systems, Humphrey Instruments, and Northern Telecom (Nortel). He was most recently employed by Pomeroy IT Solutions in Birmingham. A lifelong amateur radio enthusiast holding the Extra Class license N4DKE, he was a member of the Birmingham Amateur Radio Club, the Shelby County Amateur Radio Club, and the national Amateur Radio Relay League. He gave generously of his time to these organizations by serving in various elected and appointed offices, organizing annual local amateur radio Field Days, making many informative and entertaining presentations, and installing and maintaining radio repeaters in the greater Birmingham area. In 1993 he and his brother Michael had the unusual honor of sharing the citizenship award presented by the Birmingham Amateur Radio Club. This recognition was special because it had never been given jointly to brothers before. A man of many interests, Charles enjoyed tinkering with and repairing antique radios as well as anything electronic or mechanical. He was well known among his peers for his skills in troubleshooting. One of his proudest personal accomplishments was the erection of a 100 foot tall radio antenna tower at his home in north Chilton County which allowed him to talk with other radio operators around the world as well as astronauts orbiting in outer space. He loved to hunt and fish and enjoyed being in the outdoors with his father until his death in 1993. Jimmie showed him the ways of the woods as a boy, and Charles took particular pride in having done the same for his own son, Johnathan. A jokester of the first order, Charles was an endless source of jokes and humorous anecdotes for his network of family, loyal friends and business acquaintances. He was an avid World War II aviation buff and a committed fan of Star Trek. Charles was a lifelong member of Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Michael J. Spanos and Philothea P. Spanos; his maternal grandparents Efstratios I. Hagefstration and Martha K. Hagefstration; and his father, James M. Spanos. Charles is survived by his mother, Smaragdi (Margie) Hagefstration Spanos, Birmingham; a brother, Michael J. Spanos (Mary), Alabaster; a sister, Antoinette Spanos Nordan (Clay), Birmingham; a son, Johnathan Spanos (Amanda), Hayden; and two grandchildren Jada and Cadence Spanos, Hayden. Visitation will be at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17 at the Cathedral with Trisagion service to follow at 7:00 p.m. Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 18 at the Cathedral with burial to follow at Elmwood Cemetery. Father Paul Costopoulos officiating. If you needed help or a part if Charles had it, it was yours.Charles was a Hams Ham.and will be missed on the local 10-10 net.
We all miss Charles, for a void has been created in our lives. Here at Lee County Board of Education, Charles designed the school's Cisco network, and everywere I go, I see Charles working on the switches. I see where he touch the equipment. I consider it a special privilege to have had Charles as a friend. I had hope for many years of working with him, and talking about
Amateur Radio and Electronics. The Lord needed Charles in Heaven for a special purpose. We will meet again. 73 for now.
Charles was one of those unique individuals who was a true ham's ham, but he also had so many other interests and was so well-rounded. How many of us have enjoyed the honey from his hives? Or gone hunting or fishing with him? Or talked at lunch about so many other subjects besides amateur radio? Yet we always got back to his vintage gear he loved so much, his tower and antennas, the latest DX he worked, or last week's 10-10 net.
Even with all the Es and DX on 10 meters lately, the band seems empty somehow.