George Liarakos passed away peacefully on March 26, 2025 surrounded by the family he adored. He was a gentle, humble man of unwavering integrity who died with dignity and lived seeking perfection and helping others. And so concludes a life well lived.
George was born in 1934 in Lira, Monemvasia, Greece to Petros and Despina Stellakis Liarakos. His early education was completed in Lira. He continued his high school studies in the neighboring town of Molai. Upon graduation George seized the opportunity presented by his uncle Peter Liarakos to pursue a college education in the United States. He enrolled at LaSalle College as a foreign student in the pre-med program and graduated with honors having begun with an English vocabulary of only five hundred words when he entered as a freshman. He continued his studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Upon graduation he was accepted at Lankenau Hospital as an OB-GYN resident.
Professionally George was loved by his patients and highly regarded by his colleagues. In his forty-five years of private practice, he estimated he had delivered ten thousand babies. George also had the distinction of delivering the last baby at Wilmington General Hospital and the first baby at the newly opened Christiana Hospital. In his field, he adopted new techniques and he was among the first to perform laparoscopic surgery, subsequently teaching the procedure to others. Upon retirement, he was asked to continue on the staff of Christiana Hospital in the residents’ teaching program which he did for five years. He also supported the Birth Center, Claymont Clinic, Planned Parenthood, and the former HMO of Delaware. He was a Life Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a member of the Philadelphia Obstetrical Society.
George met his wife, Ann Valan, on the first day he arrived from Greece. They were married ten years later in 1964. In his time away from his demanding schedule, George traveled throughout the world with his wife, daughter, relatives and friends. Multiple trips to six continents were intense, thus relaxing times in Greece and St. Barts were his favorites. Food and wine, theater, museum visits with some coercion from Ann, were his pastimes. His love of gardening stemmed from his childhood days working alongside his father on the family farm. He loved playing bridge and reading biographies, American history, the occasional fiction, and newspapers from the first page to the last. As a true Greek, he was well informed on the latest in politics, his favorite topic of conversation. When dining at Tiffin, the family restaurant, George never hesitated to pitch in if the host or coat checker did not show.
Dr. Liarakos is survived by Ann, his daughter Nicole, brother Haralambos, sisters Daphne and Panagiota, and brother-in-law Kenneth. His parents and sister Irini predeceased him.
In lieu of flowers, his family wishes that donations be made to Dr. Sheng-Han Kuo MD for the research study of Olivopontocerebellar Atrophy. https://medicine.givenow.columbia.edu/?alloc=23904. To make a donation by check, please make the check payable to Trustees at Columbia University, Attn: Dr. Kuo Research Gift Fund/ IMO and mail to Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Office of Development, Attn: Matthew Reals, 516 West 168th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10032.
Interment will be private. A memorial reception will be held at the Wilmington Country Club on May 31st at 6 p.m. All who knew and loved George are welcome.
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