Fr. Thomas Paris In Memoriam
Reverend Father Thomas J. Paris, Dean Emeritus of the Ascension Greek Orthodox Cathedral, passed away on August 8, 2021 following a long battle with cancer. Fr. Paris, the son of James and Grace Paris, was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois on September 16, 1935. He received the Phi Beta Kappa and B’nai B’rith Youth of the Year Awards and was selected for the Chicago Tribune all-city football team. He graduated from Chicago’s Amundsen High School in 1953. In 1959, he graduated from Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he was class president and newspaper and yearbook editor. After graduation he married Vaso Katinas of St. Louis, Missouri and traveled with her to Greece on a honeymoon that lasted two years. In August of 1971, Fr. Tom, Presbytera Vaso, and their five children arrived in Oakland, where he lived and served the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension for the next 50 years. Under his leadership the parish was elevated to Cathedral status in 1992 and hosted four Patriarchs as well as two heads of state. Fr. Paris helped organize the popular Oakland Greek Festival along with the successful weekly Senior Center Program. He was a champion of the Ascension Cathedral Golf Tournament and is recognized annually by “The Father Tom Paris Half Way to Heaven Long Drive Contest.” Fr. Tom will be remembered for his gift of encouragement, his joyful laugh and loving nature. He loved his family and his flock and he was tireless in his efforts to serve others and to do what was pleasing to God. He was present in times of joy and times of sorrow providing the love and support that was needed.