Local obituary: Emmanuel Paraschos, 77, taught at Emerson College for 30 years

Emmanuel “Manny” Evmenis Paraschos, 77, of Auburndale, MA, died July 30, 2023, of pneumonia.

Manny was born in Athens, Greece, and came to the UN as a reporter for his family newspaper when he was 18. He then earned BA, MA and Ph.D. degrees in journalism from the University of Missouri.

He taught at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock for 12 years, during which he had a Fulbright lectureship in Fredrikstad, Norway. He retired from Emerson College as professor emeritus after 30 years of teaching. From 1991-1994 he was founding dean of Emerson’s Institute for International Communication in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Manny continued his research after retirement, creating websites for “The First Greeks of Boston” and “The Boston Journalism Trail,” a signature achievement tracing the origins of American journalism in Boston. The Society of Professional Journalists honored this research in 2014 with its national “Historic Site in Journalism” award to the city of Boston.

But most of all, Manny is remembered for his humor, love of all things Greek, and ability to entertain people of all ages, especially children.

Manny is survived by his wife of 46 years, Janet Nyberg, daughter Sophia (Joe Fantony) of Pittsboro, NC, son Alexander (Chelsea) of LA, four grandchildren, and his brother Joseph (Rosa and daughter Sofia) in Athens.

Visitation was from 9-10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 2, at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 57 Brown St., Weston, with funeral service following at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the scholarship fund Manny created at Emerson to recognize first-generation college students majoring in journalism. For information: Emerson.edu/giving and specify Manny’s name. For online guestbook, gfdoherty.com George F. Doherty & Sons Wellesley 781-235-4100

This local obituary is published via Legacy.com and George F. Doherty & Sons Wellesley Funeral Homes. Want a loved one’s obituary featured on Boston.com? Submit your obituary here, or email it to [email protected].