1987 Athan Catjakis Massachusetts House of Representatives

Athan Catjakis (May 22, 1931 – January 20, 2022) was an American politician. Catjakis was born in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, and graduated from Springfield Technical High School. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, Catjakis began his political career as chief of staff to mayor William C. Sullivan. Sullivan subsequently appointed Catjakis to Springfield Housing Authority. In 1979, Catjakis became a legislative aide to

Arthur J. McKenna Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

. Catjakis worked for McKenna for five years, until McKenna announced his retirement from politics in 1984. Catjakis ran for McKenna's open seat on the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

, and served until the end of his fourth term in 1992, when he was succeeded by his former legislative aide Dennis M. Murphy. He died on January 20, 2022, in

Agawam, Massachusetts Agawam is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 28,692 at the 2020 census. Agawam sits on the western side of the Connecticut River, directly across from Springfield. It is considered part of the Springfie ...

, at the age of 90.

References

1931 births 2022 deaths Politicians from Springfield, Massachusetts Military personnel from Massachusetts Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court {{Massachusetts-politician-stub