Agisilaos John "Pappy" Pappanikou

Dr. Agisilaos John "Pappy" Pappanikou, professor emeritus of educational psychology and pioneer and champion in the field of developmental disabilities died peacefully at his home on Friday, November 6th, 2009. He was predeceased by his wife of 55 years, Lucette Nadeau Pappanikou. Pappy was born to John Evangelo and Demetra (Karagiannis) Pappanikou in Grevena, Greece in 1930, where he lived until the age of seven when his family moved to Augusta, Maine. After graduating with honors from Cony High School in Augusta, he attended Bowdoin College and graduated with an AB in economics and biology. Following graduation in 1952, he accepted the position of assistant director of education at the Pownal State School in Maine. He received his master's degree in 1957 and his doctorate in 1962 from Syracuse University. From Pownal, Dr. Pappanikou began an extraordinary 24 year chapter in his teaching career at the University of Connecticut. His illustrious career includes his many years as the chair of the Special Education Unit in the Department of Educational Psychology, mentoring 51 doctoral degree recipients, and authoring numerous scholarly publications and papers, including the textbook, Mainstreaming Emotionally Disturbed Children, which he co-wrote and edited with James Paul. His dedication to the University of Connecticut did not go unnoticed as his accolades are many. Pappy received the Distinguished Service Award from the UConn Alumni Association in 1970. He was named an Honorary Life Alumnus by UConn's Alumni Association in 2001 and was presented with the University of Connecticut Neag School Of Education Alumni Society's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. The Center for Developmental Disabilities that Pappy established on the Storrs campus in 1985 was renamed the University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service located at the UConn Health Center in Farmington. In 2007, Pappy was awarded the Bowdoin College Alumni Association Distinguished Educator Award. Through his 44 years as a proud member of the University of Connecticut family, he has served on many committees including the Presidential Search committee, the Executive Committee of the University Senate, Deans Search committees, Chair of the University Scholastic Standards Committee, Chair of the University Student Welfare Committee, IRB Committee member, Athletic Advisory Committee, Faculty Representative to the NCAA, Committee of Five -Consulting Management Committee, Town/University Relations Committee, and the Finance Committee for the Downtown Partnership. Pappy was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, a Freemason of the Cumberland Lodge, New Gloucester, ME, the Mansfield Lion's Club, a peer reviewer for federal grants and disabilities, one of the founding fathers of the Counsel for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD), a division of the Council for Exceptional Children, President of the Northeast Region American Association of Mental Deficiency, and on the committee in establishing the first International Medical Conference on Mental Retardation. In recent years, he continued working with parents and school systems to help develop viable programs for children with special needs. Pappy was a staunch supporter of UConn athletics and believed that his affiliation with the athletic programs at UConn, from women's soccer to men's hockey, provided him the opportunity to develop his deepest and most meaningful friendships. He leaves his children, Anne Druzolowski and her husband Joseph of South Windsor; Sandra Sutyla and her husband Raymond, of Ellington; John Pappanikou and his wife Carol, of Waterbury; Elayne Marrotte and her husband John of Windham; and, nine grandchildren, Christopher, John Jr., Meghan, Sarah, Alissa, Nicholas, Lindsey, Alexander, and Tyler. He was predeceased by his youngest daughter, Lisa Glidden. Pappy's family will receive guests at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson St., (Rte. 195), Willimantic, CT on Thursday, November 12th between 3:00 and 7:00 pm. Funeral services will be private. A public memorial celebration will be held on Friday, November 13th at 1:00 pm at Zenny's Restaurant, 625 Middle Tnpk., (Rte 44), Mansfield, CT. For online memorial guestbook and directions to the funeral home, please visit www.potterfuneralhome.com . In lieu of flowers, donations may be made either to the Lisa Pappanikou Glidden Scholarship, for graduate studies in the area of severe and profound disabilities, or the Pappanikou Family Scholarship, in support of student athletes at the University of Connecticut. Both may be sent to: The UConn Foundation, Inc., 2390 Alumni Drive, U-3206, Storrs, CT 06269-3206.