Father George D. Vartzelis, who in 50 years of active priestly ministry served in 13 different parishes and during his senior priest years served in another four, died at Maristhill Nursing Care, Waltham, on Aug. 16, 2020.

Born in Beverly on April 29, 1928, he was the sole surviving child of the late Louis and Catherine (Rena Cravatis) Vartzelis. His younger brother, Theodore, died in 1990 and his sister, Gloria Melanson, died in 2017. He was raised in St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish, of which he was especially proud, and he graduated high school from St. Joseph [French], Salem, in 1946. He entered St. John Seminary initially as a member of the class of 1954. That class never "materialized"; rather, because of an overcrowded seminary and the need to make room for seminarians, his class was accelerated and ordained Sept. 29, 1953, by Archbishop Cushing at the cathedral. Thus was born the "second class of 1953"; the "first" having been ordained the previous February.

With his first assignment as an assistant at St. Anne, Littleton, began the series of assignments and post retirement parish assistance, which would end only a few years ago. Not before he racked up an amazing score of parishes, where he was well known and even more liked.

Following Littleton and until he was named a pastor in 1975, he served as either an assistant or an associate at the following parishes: Our Lady of the Lake, Halifax (155); All Saints, Roxbury (1955-1960); St. Joseph, Lynn, (1960-1963); Holy Family, Rockland (1963-1964); St. Agnes, Reading (1964-1971); St. Joseph, Somerville (1971); St. Matthias, Marlborough (1971); St. Margaret, Dorchester (1971-1975). Between 1961 and 1975, he also served as a reserve chaplain in the United States Navy chaplain corps.

In 1975, Humberto Cardinal Medeiros named him pastor of Sacred Heart parish, Cambridge, the first of our parishes where he would serve as pastor. During the nine years he was in East Cambridge, he revived the parish: physically, fiscally, and in morale and participation. Father Kevin Toomey, presently pastor of St. Michael, Bedford, and a native son of Sacred Heart, said "He brought the parish back. He did a great job cleaning up the grounds and restoring the beauty of the church. Once the outside was fixed up, he went to work inside." With some many ethnic groups represented in the parish, Father Vartzelis added national flags of each group. The church was large so, even with dozens of flags unfurled over the center aisle, they were not "in the way."

Ten years later, he went to another Sacred Heart, this one in Roslindale, where, in six years, he set about making necessary repairs and creating a new spirit there as well.

He returned to the Northshore in 1991 when he was named pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas, Nahant. Widely read and a fan of history, he was certainly delighted being in a town that was the one-time residence of the famous scion of one of the Commonwealth's most notable political families, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge.

Between 1984 and 1992, he served for two terms on the Clergy Personnel Board.

Six years later he was appointed pastor of St. James the Great, Wellesley. In 2003 he celebrated his 50th anniversary of ordination and was granted senior priest/retirement status by Bishop Richard Lennon, then the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese.

Although he had become a senior priest and retired originally to Youville House, Cambridge, then to Regina Cleri and finally to Maristhill; he was out and about serving in four parishes: St. Patrick, Stoneham; St. Raphael, Medford; St. Joseph, Lincoln and Most Precious Blood, Dover as well as at Concord Hospital.

He was above all a gentleman. Possessed of an innate kindness and a wonderful sense of humor and genuine love of people which was returned to him easily and readily.

Father Vartzelis returned to St. Mary Star of the Sea this last time for his Funeral Mass on Aug. 20; among the priests indicating they would concelebrate the Funeral Mass were Father Kevin Toomey, Bedford, who was also the homilist; Father Ronald Coyne, Star of the Sea, Marblehead; Father William Schmidt, Winthrop and Beverly's present pastor, Father David C. Michael.

Father Vartzelis was buried with his family in St. Mary Cemetery, Salem.