Citizen of the Year
Charles Nackos
Charles James Nackos and his twin brother Lou were born on May 14, 1938, in Salt Lake City. Their parents, James and Tena Nackos, were second-generation children of immigrants. His dad was Greek and his mother was Bulgarian. His first home was a converted boxcar, and he and Lou were so small that their beds were shoe boxes. Charles has six brothers and sisters. During his younger years, his family lived in various cities in Utah, Oregon, Washington and California.
In his teens, his family moved to Oakland, California, where they owned and ran a barbecue restaurant. He attended Fremont High School and participated in gymnastics, journalism and drama. Upon graduation, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northern Mexico Mission for two and a half years.
Within weeks of returning to the United States, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. He served six months of active duty at Base Alameda in California and would serve six and a half years in the Coast Guard reserves. During that time, he attended Brigham Young University, where he acted in plays and was active in the pep club on campus known as the Young Men. He graduated with a degree in communications and a lifelong love of BYU sports.
Charles met his wife-to-be, Lela Rae Perkins (from East Carbon, Utah), while living and working in Costa Mesa, California. They were married in the Los Angeles Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1967. After giving birth to their daughter in California, they settled in Utah, where they added five more boys. They eventually moved to Springville in 1972, where Charles has lived ever since. His youngest son, Jonathan, passed away in a car wreck in Hobble Creek Canyon in 1994, and his wife passed away from cancer in 1995. His living children are Jennifer (Spencer) Nelson, James (Tina) Nackos, Jason (Dalia) Nackos, Jared Nackos and Jeffrey (Jamie) Nackos. He has 21 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren with another on the way.
Charles spent the majority of his career in sales and merchandising. He worked for Howard Ruff at his company, the Jefferson Institute, for several years, organizing seminars nationwide. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he co-owned a travel business and logged thousands of miles of travel throughout the country. When the 9/11 attacks hit, it negatively affected the company to the point that they had to close the business.
At 86 years old, he still works five days a week selling manufactured homes at Elite Housing in Springville. His all-time favorite job was as a substitute teacher in the Springville and Mapleton schools, where he was known as Mr. Nachos (a play on his last name). He substitute-taught classes for 12 years and impacted the lives of many with his humor and love for the students.
Since Lela’s passing, he has dedicated much of his spare time to serving his family, neighbors and church. He has given countless hours of service to neighbors doing yard work and other chores. Although his age and a stroke in 2020 have limited his ability to provide physical labor, he still finds ways to serve. His infectious personality has touched the lives of many in our community for the past 53 years.