Individual Details
Demitrios John Pouletsos
(16 Dec 1914 - 27 Jan 2009)
Information from Nicholas John Pouletsos to Carol Petranek.
OBITUARY:
Record, The (Hackensack, NJ) - January 29, 2009
Deceased Name: POULETSOS - James J.
POULETSOS - James J., 94. Beloved husband of Irene (nee Kyprios). Loving father of Corinne Krachtus of Westwood, NJ, and Elaine Miller of Stafford, VA. He was predeceased by his daughter Daphne Pouletsos. Cherished grandfather of Dayna and John James Krachtus of Westwood; Kassia and Diana Miller of New York City and Alexander Miller of Stafford, VA. Dear father-in-law to John Krachtus and Martin Miller. Beloved brother of Sophie Jounakos, Nicholas, Spiros and Thomas Pouletsos. He was predeceased by his sister Anne Pouletsos.
Born in Indiana, Mr. Pouletsos was a resident of Westwood since 1925. He worked at Conrad's Confectionery in Westwood as a teenager before serving as a Master Sergeant with Gen. Patton's Third Army in WWII during which he was awarded the Bronze Star. He became proprietor of Conrads upon his return to Westwood. In the late 1980's he sold his business to his daughter and son-in-law who are the current owners, but continued to make chocolates until his retirement in 1999.
He was a member of St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church, the Masonic Lodge Temple 173, VFW Post 130, and the 80th Division Veterans Association. He was also an active member and past Treasurer of the Westwood Rotary Club.
A funeral service will be held at St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church in Tenafly on Friday, January 30 at 12 PM. Interment will follow at George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus, NJ. The family will receive their friends on Thursday, January 29, from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at Becker Funeral Home, 219 Kinderkamack Road, Westwood, NJ. The Trisagion Service will be held on Thursday at 8 PM. There will also be a Masonic Service on Thursday evening.
Copyright (c) 2009 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
OBITUARY:
Record, The (Hackensack, NJ) - January 30, 2009
Deceased Name: Jim Pouletsos, 94; candymaker Owned Conrad's Confectionery in Westwood
How sweet he was.
Jim Pouletsos, the genial, jowly candy maker who for decades ran Conrad's Confectionery in Westwood, died Tuesday. He was 94.
Established by Fred Conrad in 1928, Conrad's is a Pascack Valley institution, and so was Mr. Pouletsos.
He started there as a soda jerk in the 1930s and was made a partner in the store - its soda fountain the backdrop for countless first dates - after returning from World War II.
He became sole owner in the 1960s and passed the reins to his daughter and son-in-law, Corinne and John Krachtus, in 1985.
"But he still came back every day to hand-dip chocolates for us," John Krachtus said.
"Jim was a soda jerk, a candy maker, in the best sense of the word," said Lee Tremble, owner of the Iron Horse Inn in Westwood and a founder of the Westwood Heritage Society.
"He came from somewhere else, but as far as I'm concerned he was all about Westwood."
As a kid, Tremble downed cherry Cokes, chocolate egg creams and malteds made by Mr. Pouletsos.
"You know what Jim was? He was everyone's grandpa," Tremble added.
Mr. Pouletsos, whose family moved to Westwood from Indiana when he was 10 years old, once told The Record how he got hired at Conrad's.
"When I graduated from Westwood High School, I landed a job as an office boy in New York with Standard Oil for $12 a week. Then one night, I was having an ice cream at Conrad's and someone told him [Fred Conrad] that I was experienced [as a counter boy]. He offered me $18 a week, and I never went back to New York. I started here the next morning."
Mr. Pouletsos learned candymaking at the side of Fred Conrad and passed along that knowledge to his family.
Today, the Krachtuses run Conrad's with their 31-year-old son, J.J. From autumn through Easter, they focus on making chocolates. Come April, the orange-vinyl booths and counter stools are dragged out of storage, and Conrad's becomes a soda and ice cream shop.
The store, last remodeled during the Eisenhower era, is thought to be the oldest retail business in Westwood.
Corinne Krachtus said her father was happy-go-lucky and slightly overweight.
"He was skin and bones in the Army, and then he became well-fed, I guess," she said.
Mr. Pouletsos was partial to dark chocolate bark with nuts.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Irene; daughters Corinne Krachtus of Westwood and Elaine Miller of Stafford, Va.; three brothers, one sister, and five grandchildren.
Another daughter, Daphne Pouletsos, worked at Aon Corp. in the World Trade Center and died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"That's kind of when he stopped everything," his daughter Corinne said. "He kind of just gave up."
The funeral is today at noon at St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church, Tenafly. Interment will be in George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus. Becker Funeral Home in Westwood is in charge of arrangements.
Social Security Death Index
Name: James J. Pouletsos
Date of Birth: Wednesday December 16, 1914
Date of Death: Tuesday January 27, 2009
Est. Age at death: 94 years, 1 months, 11 days
Last known residence:
City: Westwood; Old Tappan; River Vale; Rivervale
County: Bergen
State: New Jersey
ZIP Code: 07675
Latitude: 41.0025
Longitude: -74.0303
Confirmation: Proven
Social Security details:
State of Issue: New Jersey
Number: 146-05-1212
OBITUARY:
Record, The (Hackensack, NJ) - January 29, 2009
Deceased Name: POULETSOS - James J.
POULETSOS - James J., 94. Beloved husband of Irene (nee Kyprios). Loving father of Corinne Krachtus of Westwood, NJ, and Elaine Miller of Stafford, VA. He was predeceased by his daughter Daphne Pouletsos. Cherished grandfather of Dayna and John James Krachtus of Westwood; Kassia and Diana Miller of New York City and Alexander Miller of Stafford, VA. Dear father-in-law to John Krachtus and Martin Miller. Beloved brother of Sophie Jounakos, Nicholas, Spiros and Thomas Pouletsos. He was predeceased by his sister Anne Pouletsos.
Born in Indiana, Mr. Pouletsos was a resident of Westwood since 1925. He worked at Conrad's Confectionery in Westwood as a teenager before serving as a Master Sergeant with Gen. Patton's Third Army in WWII during which he was awarded the Bronze Star. He became proprietor of Conrads upon his return to Westwood. In the late 1980's he sold his business to his daughter and son-in-law who are the current owners, but continued to make chocolates until his retirement in 1999.
He was a member of St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church, the Masonic Lodge Temple 173, VFW Post 130, and the 80th Division Veterans Association. He was also an active member and past Treasurer of the Westwood Rotary Club.
A funeral service will be held at St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church in Tenafly on Friday, January 30 at 12 PM. Interment will follow at George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus, NJ. The family will receive their friends on Thursday, January 29, from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at Becker Funeral Home, 219 Kinderkamack Road, Westwood, NJ. The Trisagion Service will be held on Thursday at 8 PM. There will also be a Masonic Service on Thursday evening.
Copyright (c) 2009 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
OBITUARY:
Record, The (Hackensack, NJ) - January 30, 2009
Deceased Name: Jim Pouletsos, 94; candymaker Owned Conrad's Confectionery in Westwood
How sweet he was.
Jim Pouletsos, the genial, jowly candy maker who for decades ran Conrad's Confectionery in Westwood, died Tuesday. He was 94.
Established by Fred Conrad in 1928, Conrad's is a Pascack Valley institution, and so was Mr. Pouletsos.
He started there as a soda jerk in the 1930s and was made a partner in the store - its soda fountain the backdrop for countless first dates - after returning from World War II.
He became sole owner in the 1960s and passed the reins to his daughter and son-in-law, Corinne and John Krachtus, in 1985.
"But he still came back every day to hand-dip chocolates for us," John Krachtus said.
"Jim was a soda jerk, a candy maker, in the best sense of the word," said Lee Tremble, owner of the Iron Horse Inn in Westwood and a founder of the Westwood Heritage Society.
"He came from somewhere else, but as far as I'm concerned he was all about Westwood."
As a kid, Tremble downed cherry Cokes, chocolate egg creams and malteds made by Mr. Pouletsos.
"You know what Jim was? He was everyone's grandpa," Tremble added.
Mr. Pouletsos, whose family moved to Westwood from Indiana when he was 10 years old, once told The Record how he got hired at Conrad's.
"When I graduated from Westwood High School, I landed a job as an office boy in New York with Standard Oil for $12 a week. Then one night, I was having an ice cream at Conrad's and someone told him [Fred Conrad] that I was experienced [as a counter boy]. He offered me $18 a week, and I never went back to New York. I started here the next morning."
Mr. Pouletsos learned candymaking at the side of Fred Conrad and passed along that knowledge to his family.
Today, the Krachtuses run Conrad's with their 31-year-old son, J.J. From autumn through Easter, they focus on making chocolates. Come April, the orange-vinyl booths and counter stools are dragged out of storage, and Conrad's becomes a soda and ice cream shop.
The store, last remodeled during the Eisenhower era, is thought to be the oldest retail business in Westwood.
Corinne Krachtus said her father was happy-go-lucky and slightly overweight.
"He was skin and bones in the Army, and then he became well-fed, I guess," she said.
Mr. Pouletsos was partial to dark chocolate bark with nuts.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Irene; daughters Corinne Krachtus of Westwood and Elaine Miller of Stafford, Va.; three brothers, one sister, and five grandchildren.
Another daughter, Daphne Pouletsos, worked at Aon Corp. in the World Trade Center and died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"That's kind of when he stopped everything," his daughter Corinne said. "He kind of just gave up."
The funeral is today at noon at St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church, Tenafly. Interment will be in George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus. Becker Funeral Home in Westwood is in charge of arrangements.
Social Security Death Index
Name: James J. Pouletsos
Date of Birth: Wednesday December 16, 1914
Date of Death: Tuesday January 27, 2009
Est. Age at death: 94 years, 1 months, 11 days
Last known residence:
City: Westwood; Old Tappan; River Vale; Rivervale
County: Bergen
State: New Jersey
ZIP Code: 07675
Latitude: 41.0025
Longitude: -74.0303
Confirmation: Proven
Social Security details:
State of Issue: New Jersey
Number: 146-05-1212
Events
| Birth | 16 Dec 1914 | Connersville, Fayette, Indiana, United States |  | ||
| Marriage | 1946 | Irene Kyprios | |||
| Death | 27 Jan 2009 | Westwood, Bergen, New Jersey, United States | | ||
| FamilySearch ID | L84S-2K3 |
Families
| Spouse | Irene Kyprios (1921 - 2016) |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Daphne Pouletsos (1954 - 2001) |
| Father | John Dimitrios Pouletsos (1878 - 1968) |
| Mother | Kaliope N. Packs or Pakiotis (1886 - 1979) |
| Sibling | Sophia Pouletsos (1916 - 1917) |
| Sibling | Nicholas John Pouletsos (1917 - 2010) |
| Sibling | Spiro Pouletsos (1918 - 2014) |
| Sibling | Athanasios OR Thomas Pouletsos (1920 - 2016) |
| Sibling | Anna Pouletsos (1922 - 2006) |
| Sibling | Sophia Pouletsos (1923 - 2025) |
| Sibling | Pouletsos (1924 - 1924) |
Endnotes
1. Family Member.
2. Obituary.