Nicholas Vrakelos

Nicholas Abraham Vrakelos, who was a respected and loved Conejo Valley teacher at Thousand Oaks High School and Westlake High School for a combined 35 years, has passed away. He was 80 years old. He loved and cared about his students and made his classes interesting and fun.
Nicholas was born in New York City, NY on February 12, 1942 to George and Betty Vrakelos. He was the second child of four children. As a child he was raised in Chicago, Illinois. He was educated at a Greek elementary school called Socrates and Plato. He graduated from Lane Tech High School, an all-boy public school in Chicago. He continued his education in California where he attended and graduated from San Fernando Valley State in Northridge in the 60's and received his Bachelor of Arts and Masters degree.
He loved being an uncle to all of his nieces and nephews, he would take them to the theater for plays and introduced them to the Art Museums in Los Angeles and Chicago.
He was a world traveler. He took a sabbatical from teaching for a short period and learned so much from other cultures. Nicholas loved to eat and enjoyed foods from all nationalities, but also took culinary classes to share his cooking knowledge with his students. He always said it made him a better teacher to have experienced life in different countries.
He retired from teaching in the 90's and moved to Newport Beach, California and then to Mobile, Alabama, where he lived for many years and finally passed away on January 16, 2023.
Nicholas was loved by his family and friends. He is survived by his younger brother Christopher Vrakelos; Christopher's wife Teresa Vrakelos, youngest brother George Vrakelos, and brother in law John Baron, and numerous nieces and nephews in California, Illinois and Texas. Nicholas is preceded in death by his parents, and his sister Maria Baron He will join his parents and be buried in Los Gatos Cemetery in San Jose, California.
In lieu of flowers please donate to UNICEF. UNICEF won't stop till every child is healthy, educated, protected, and respected.