Alex Stamos 1888-1967

STAMOS, CLEMENS, CLINE, DOXON

Posted By: Sharon Elijah (email)
Date: 6/4/2021 at 07:30:41

15 June 1967 - The Tipton Conservative

Last rites for Alex Nick Stamos, 79, were held in Des Moines May 22 with burial in the Masonic cemetery in Des Moines.

Mr. Stamos died at Iowa Methodist hospital May 18, following a stroke. He had several heart attacks in recent years, but had been in good health during the months immediately preceding his death.

Mr. Stamos was well known in Tipton, having spent most of the period from 1955 to 1965 with his son, George, and his family in Tipton where he assisted with the operation of Stamos furniture.

Stamos retired as roadmaster for the Rock Island lines in 1954 and came to Tipton the next year. He was a railroad worker for a half century.

Alex Stamos was born in Calamas, Greece, Feb. 25, 1888. He came to the United States with his father and 2 brothers in 1903 and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he and his brothers went to work for the Big 4 railroad. Alex worked as a water boy for $1.10 a day. During this time he attended night school to learn the English language.

In 1909 he went to Kansas City, Mo., to work as a section laborer for the Burlington railroad. After 3 months he was appointed section foreman at Mecca, Mo. In 1911 he went to Trenton, Mo., and began work for the Rock Island railroad. In Trenton he was married to Grace Clemens and they moved to Arlington, Kans., where he was appointed section foreman.

A year later he was transferred to Dunlap and then to Centerville as yard foreman.

In 1928 he was appointed construction foreman for the building of a line from Trenton to Moseby, Mo. When this job was over, he was named track supervisor at Des Moines.

In 1937 he was appointed roadmaster at Sibley and then worked as roadmaster on nearly every division of the Rock Island railroad. He lived in Amarillo, Texas form 1950 to 1954, except for a time when he supervised the building of a new line between Atlantic and Council Bluffs.

He was a member of the Greek Orthodox church in Des Moines, the Kaaba Temple of the Shrine, York Rite Masonic lodge, Roosevelt Blue Lodge 662 and Order of the Easter Star and Elks lodge in Davenport.

He is survived by 3 sons, George A., Tipton; Earl, Davenport and James A., Des Moines; 2 daughters, Mrs. Delores Cline, Atlantic and Mrs. Bessie Doxon, St. Joseph, Mo., 13 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.