Sinatra devotee and KSVY personality Stan Pappas to leave Sonoma for the Nevada desert

Stan Pappas, KSVY radio personality and part-owner, will be soon be signing off the Sonoma airways for the last time. Nails are now being pounded on his new home in Mesquite, Nevada, and he plans to make the move by the end of the year.

Pappas is known for his radio shows, his live Frank Sinatra tribute performances, his occasional letters to the editor and, for a few years, as co-owner of Pipe Pirates – a now-closed head shop in the Springs.

He’s lived in the Valley for just over 20 years, and he’s the kind of guy that people either take to or find hard to take. And he’

“My friends are 50-50,” he joked. “Fifty percent like me and the other 50 percent could live without me,” but no doubt many are going to miss him once he moves on.

“I don’t take a lot of crap and I’m not exactly politically correct. I can’t change who I am and at this age I don’t want to,” said the almost-75-year-old.

Pappas remarried last year and he and his wife Betty, who he has known since junior high school, each of them Greek Orthodox and born and raised in San Francisco, are looking forward to retirement living an hour outside Las Vegas. There’s something about a brand new home, no state income taxes, and having their best friends – former Sonomans Jerry and Arlene Clemons – already there to welcome them that makes Nevada seem like a welcome change.

“I’m a conservative in a state that’s very, very liberal,” he said, and Sonoma seems to be getting a bit crowded for him. He’s going to miss going into the radio station though, where he is part-owner, program director, and the host of “It’s All About Frank,” an hour and half of tunes chosen from his collection of more than 150 Sinatra LPs and CDs; and “It’s All About You,” when he interviews community leaders and invites them to bring their favorite songs to play on air. City Manager Cathy Capriola, Mayor Rachel Hundley and council members David Cook and Gary Edwards have all been on his show.

Sitting in the sun on the patio of his Temelec home, Pappas is tanned and dapper in his JINs transitional sunglasses and Robert Graham shirt with its rolled-back contrast-colored cuffs. For more than 30 years he designed and sold woman’s shoes, and he’s always had an eye for fashion. Right now his main concern is finding someone to replace him in his role of enlisting KSVY sponsors and raising the funds needed to keep the station going. He’s hoping for perhaps a retired person with sales experience who would find the extra cash from commissions appealing.

In case you missed it, Pappas’s final show playing his role as Sinatra, dressed in a tux and holding the appropriate martini glass, can still be found on YouTube. He used to entertain regularly around town, at the Annex, Plaza Bistro, Schelleville Grill and the old Meritage. Now he volunteers several times a month at local retirement and residential care homes, and loves how the old timers know all the words to the Sinatra songs he sings.

“When all my friends were listening to Elvis, I was buying Sinatra albums,” Pappas said. He was 11 years old when he got his first one, “Swing Easy,” and he still listens to Sinatra every day.

Pappas was vocal about his opposition to the leaf blower ban, appeared at City Council meetings in support of the water district adding fluoride to the water, is in favor of the new hotel on West Napa Street and does not think marijuana, medical or recreational, should be sold inside Sonoma city limits. “Let them sell it in Cotati. They’ve got a good one there,” he said, adding that he never intended to sell cannabis at his now-defunct smoke shop. He uses medical marijuana “to sleep at night” but otherwise is a fan of red wine, especially Corner 103 Grenache. He’ll be keeping up his wine club membership there and at Gloria Ferrar, so he will be still be getting some of Sonoma’s best in Nevada.

“It’s time for me to move on,” Pappas said. His favorite Sinatra song is “Don’t Worry About Me,” which seems apropos as he waves goodbye.

Fly to the moon, Stan, and play among the stars.