Mother of Harvard residents, businesswoman, lover of games
Charlotte Nigzus (Courtesy photo)
Charlotte (Kratimenos) Nigzus of Lowell, 92, passed away peacefully at Lowell General Hospital on Monday, Feb. 2, 2015, after a brief illness.
She was born in Lowell on Jan. 23, 1923, the ninth child of Anastasios and Eleni (Bilionis) Kratimenos. She is survived by her loving husband of 60 years, James A. Nigzus. They met as children when James’ family moved to the Centralville section of Lowell and rented a home from Charlotte’s father.
Charlotte was educated in the Lowell Public School system and furthered her education at the Burdett School of Business. As a young girl, Charlotte, alongside her sisters, worked for their older brother Peter in his candy store, Natalie Sweets, at the Giant Store. Before her marriage, she worked as a secretary at Fort Devens during World War II and then at Fred C. Church Insurance and at Southwell Combing in Chelmsford. After her marriage, she worked with her husband in the family laundry business—the Centralville New System Laundry—until they both retired and closed the business.
She was a member of the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Lowell, and she participated in many of the Greek festivals held by the church.
Charlotte’s parents emigrated to the United States as newlyweds at the turn of the 20th century from Langadia, Arcadia, Greece. They eventually joined the large Greek community in Lowell and had nine children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. Charlotte was the youngest of the family. She was predeceased by her sister Francine (Paraskevi) Sotiropoulos, her sister Anna Walakenis, her brother Peter (Panayiotis) Kraines, her sister Vangie (Fotini) Kalarites, her sister and best friend Teresa (Diamando) Kratimenos, and her brother Nicholas Kraines.
In her mid-80s, Charlotte traveled to Greece twice with her husband and family members to reconnect with her husband’s extended family. She enjoyed seeing the country her parents and in-laws had left as teenagers. Recently, members of the Kratimenos family had come to the United States and visited with Charlotte, further reconnecting the families. Charlotte was very pleased to meet members of her uncle Paraskevas’ family.
Charlotte loved playing Scrabble and, at the age of 88, discovered Words with Friends. Her circle of “friends” spanned the globe. She was known to have at least 25 games going simultaneously and was willing to stay up to any hour of the night to finish a game. She loved her iPad and the way it allowed her to stay in touch with her extended family on Facebook.
She is survived by her three sons and their spouses: Steve Nigzus and his husband George Triantaris of Harvard; James and Karen Nigzus of Dracut; and Charles and Colleen Nigzus, also of Harvard. In addition, Charlotte leaves her five grandchildren: Christine and James P. of Dracut; and James A., William, and Thomas of Harvard.
Private funeral services were held at the Transfiguration Church with interment at Westlawn Cemetery. Steve, Charlie, and their families will be hosting a memorial for their mother this spring in Harvard.
