Nick Rangos, who died on Aug. 1 at the age of 86 in Aiken, was a man of many talents and interests.
He was involved in the restaurant, catering and swimming pool businesses. He also built houses, owned Laundromats and tried a number of other ventures.
It was Nick' association with The Masters, however, that brought him the most recognition.
For more than 40 years, pimento cheese made with Rangos' recipe was used in sandwiches sold at Augusta National.
Nick also made egg salad for Augusta National, but the pimento cheese was the more celebrated of the two. When Augusta National dropped Rangos' products, golf fans mourned the loss of the pimento cheese and said the replacement filling wasn't as good.
In 2013, there was a story in ESPN The Magazine about Nick's pimento cheese, which his three children - Billy Rangos, Stella Alexander and Crystal Katherine Rangos - helped mix up.
"At the outset, he was just doing it to provide a living for his family," Billy said. "But at some point, the pimento cheese did become somewhat famous. He took a great deal of pride in knowing that. There were several articles written over the years about my dad's pimento cheese, and he really enjoyed reading those. He had a smile on his face when he saw those articles."
Nick declined to give the Aiken Standard his pimento cheese recipe two years ago.
When asked what made it special, he said: "I don't really know. There's no secret to it."
Billy believes Augusta National's policy of making the pimento cheese sandwiches fresh every day helped enhance the filling's flavor.
"When people started talking about how great the pimento cheese sandwiches were, my dad said, 'They are just pimento cheese sandwiches,'" Billy recalled.
Billy added that his father provided catering services to Owens Corning for more than 30 years.
Nick was "the ultimate entrepreneur," Alexander said. "When he saw an opportunity, he tried to make it work and often he succeeded."
Billy said that his father loved people in general and his family in particular, had a "a tremendously hard work ethic" and "could manage a penny quite well."
Nick's survivors, in addition to his three children, include his widow, Irene Sango Rangos.
A Trisagion Service and a viewing will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Shellhouse Funeral Home in Aiken. The Trisagion Service will start at 7 p.m.
The funeral service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church at 953 Telfair Street in Augusta. Interment will follow at Bethany Cemetery in Aiken, and there will be a reception afterward at the Woodside Plantation Country Club in Aiken.
"With all of his work, he always had time to help out at his church, Alexander said.
Dede Biles is a general assignment reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the newspaper since January 2013. A native of Concord, N.C., she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.