Nick Vratis, 78, of Crystal Beach, died Thursday, December 1, 2016, at The Meridian in Galveston. He was born on October 19, 1938, in Beaumont. He grew up working with his father and brothers in the family restaurant, Jim’s Steakhouse, on the traffic circle in Beaumont.

Nick held a Bachelor in History and a Masters in Biology, and over the years, his career path varied. He ran The Gas Light Café in Crystal Beach in the 1970’s and later worked for Mobil Chemical in Beaumont in the 1980’s.

Nick briefly moved to Greece in the 1990’s, but returned to Crystal Beach after just three years, where he taught school and tutored. He was able to return to Greece to visit on several occasions.

Nick was an intellect and an incessant reader. He loved to visit and share stories of history, and enjoyed his afternoon walks around the Emerald II subdivision. Nick was a cat lover and doted on his three cats and any other stray he could give comfort to.

He is survived by his daughter, Rose Doré and her husband, Ron; grandson, Braxton; brothers, Jim Vratis and George Vratis; sisters, Kathy Barker; Suzy Leman and her husband, John; and Margaret Ann Cavett.

A celebration of Nick’s life will be held at 12:00 noon, Saturday, January 28, 2017, at The Stingaree Restaurant, 1295 N. Stingaree Road, Crystal Beach.

In lieu of flowers, please make memorial contributions to ASPCA, http://www.aspca.org/donate; or to American Cancer Society, 4 Bayoubrandt Drive, Suite B, Beaumont, Texas 77706.