It is with great sadness that we announce that George Basile Maroulis, MD, PhD, Chair and Professor Emeritus, Democritus Medical School, passed away on March 21, 2022 in Athens, Greece, where he was born on April 15, 1940.
He graduated from Athens College Greek-American Preparatory School, Athens, Greece in 1959, at which time he was granted one of four International Complete Four Year Scholarships to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He continued his education, on scholarship, at Albany Medical School, from which he obtained his M.D. degree in 1967, then he continued his training at Duke University Medical School.
George loved Duke. Dr. Roy T. Parker was Chairman when he was there and Dr. Parker and his wife invited the residents to their house often, something George really enjoyed. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology during which time he became Chief Resident. He did an additional year as a surgical resident. Dr. Charles Hammond was his chief resident in Ob/Gyn. They became life long friends. He went on to do a sub-specialty at UCLA-HGH in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility with Dr. Guy Abraham who had recently invented the first solid-phase radioimmunoassay system (RIA) for the measurement of steroid hormones. He earned his Ph.D from the University of Patras Medical School. He received many grants to support his prolific research.
George loved challenges and accomplished many "firsts"in his career which coincided with the explosion of new developments in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. He was Chief of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Rush University Medical School (Chicago) and at the University of Chicago Medical School where he started the first fellowship program. He became the first Chairman of Ob/Gyn at the newly established University of Patras Medical School, Patras, Greece. He returned to the USA in 1985 and started the first IVF program in Florida, at the University of South Florida where he was Professor and Chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility. He started the first IVF program at Democritus University Medical School in Alexandroupolis, Greece where he was Professor and Chairman. In his unique position of being a professor of Gynecology in the USA and Europe, George was very interested in promoting the collaboration between the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the recently organized European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). He suggested the interaction to the ASRM and was part of the first ASRM committee dedicated to that effort. George was on the first committee in Greece that advised the government as to regulations concerning IVF. He also was instrumental in establishing the Greek Robotic Gynecologic Society and became its first president. He was the only gynecologist to be a tenured full professor in both the USA and Greece. His last university position was Professor at Florida International University Medical School in Miami, Florida.
He received many honors for his work in Greece and the United States where he was repeatedly on the list of Best Doctors in America. He also gave out honors. He was pleased to give an honorary degree from the Democritus Medical School in Alexandroupolis to Dr. Robert Edwards (Nobel Laureate), whom he had met when doing his sub-specialty at UCLA and maintained contact with over the years. Dr. Edwards accepted the degree saying that IVF could not have succeeded without the use of RIA to measure steroids invented at UCLA. Betty Ford, the former First Lady of the United States, was interested in Women's Health and visited the University of Chicago. She went into the operating room with George and peered through the laparoscope to understand the procedure. George was one of two doctors who were the first to use the method in Chicago. George was dedicated to teaching, research and training the next generation and was committed to contributing to his field both in the USA and Greece. His work was his favorite "hobby." He was devoted to helping people and treated many patients without charge. He felt that his greatest honor would be for someone to be proud to have trained under him.
George will be remembered, not only for his accomplishments in his career, but for the humble, loving, indefatigable human being he was. He was fun to be with. His broad smile exuded the warmth and caring inside of him. He never dwelled on the negative and always had a good word to say about people. He had a twinkle in his eyes, ready to enjoy life at its fullest. He had a loving bond with his sons and delighted in watching them grow. They loved being with him and both became physicians.
He loved the arts, including music, opera, theater and movies. He also was a sports enthusiast and particularly enjoyed water sports, tennis and skiing. He was a water polo champion in his youth. He always had a non-medical book which he was reading, often about WWII.
He traveled the world because of his professional speaking engagements and relished every bit of it. He savored the food of different cultures and enjoyed the special restaurants he would visit during his travels. One trip to China in 1989 became somewhat harrowing when the Tiananmen Square Crisis occurred while he was there. He visited the Square each evening while in Beijing to talk with the students. He was invited by the Chinese Medical Association to organize and lead a group of reproductive endocrinologists, and their physicians graciously hosted him, including a dinner in the Emperor's dining room. He also had the rare honor of being hosted at the home of Dr. Gu, a gynecologist who was the Chinese representative to the WHO. The trip was cut short by the crisis. Fortunately, he was able to get the group off the mainland to Hong Kong.
George was predeceased by his parents Dr. Basile Maroulis, a gynecologist, and Antonia Trantas Maroulis. He is survived by his wife Thalia (aka Tallye) and sons Basile (AB'08) and Nicholas; brother Nicholas Maroulis (Paula); aunt Helen Trantas; brother-in-law Dean Topping (Jane); sister-in-law Francine Topping Tague (Philip); cousins The Miller, Maroulis, Trantas and Malliri Families; beloved nieces, nephews and friends.
He will be deeply missed by his family, friends and colleagues. They will find consolation in that his was a life well lived.
