Shrewsbury/Northborough – It is with equal measures of sadness for our loss and gratefulness for his life that we announce the passing of Dr. John E. George, DPM, our husband, father, grandfather, brother-in-law, uncle, colleague, friend, and a remarkable pioneer in podiatric medicine and surgery. Dr. George passed away peacefully at the Rose Monahan hospice home in Worcester on May 21, 2024.
He was the beloved husband of Dr. Joyce L. George, PhD for 60 years.
Born in Worcester on November 1,1939 to John and Stella George, Dr. George was a first-generation American of Lebanese descent who triumphed above the great challenges of classism, discrimination and elitism to become a leader in his field. After earning his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University, Dr. George graduated from the Ohio School of Podiatric Medicine in 1964, the same year he married his wife Joyce. After completing his residency in podiatric surgery in Dallas, the couple returned home to Worcester where Dr. George had a successful podiatry practice for 52 years. The couple made their home first in Shrewsbury and then in Northboro, where they raised their three daughters.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Dr. George committed himself to elevating and protecting the profession of podiatry first in Massachusetts, and later on a national level. He was instrumental, through advocacy and legal action, in breaking through entrenched prejudice by organized medicine, ultimately convincing key hospitals in Worcester to allow, for the first time, podiatrists to perform surgery on site, and qualified podiatrists to be included in Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. He simultaneously established a fund at UMass Medical Center to support podiatric surgical training. In 1973, Dr. George was elected president of the Massachusetts Podiatric Medical Society. He served on the board of trustees of the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) from 1979 to 2005, and served as the organization’s president in 1992. Subsequently, he served on the board of directors for the Podiatry Insurance Company of America (PICA), rising to the role of Chairman of the Board. In 2017, the year he retired, Dr. George achieved his profession’s highest honor by being inducted into the Podiatry Hall of Fame.
Besides his wife, Joyce, Dr. George leaves to celebrate his life his daughter Renee Klucznik and husband James of East Granby, Connecticut, his daughter Cheryl George and husband Raymond Schnell of Tustin, California, his beloved grandchildren Melanie and Grace Klucznik, Emma and Ava Schnell and Elise and Gardner Porter, and many in-laws, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his daughter Kristin Porter, parents John and Stella George, and brothers Wellington and Roger Desmarais.
Dr. George will be fondly remembered as a man who was deeply proud of his Lebanese heritage and a devoted member of Our Lady of Mercy in Worcester and St. Rose of Lima in Northboro for many years. He took great joy in the home he shared with Joyce on Cape Cod, in the magnificent views of Lewis Bay, West Yarmouth, from their deck and riding the waves of the bay in his boat wearing his captain’s hat. This is where he shared his most precious memories over the years with family and friends and where we will always picture him smiling in the sunshine.
Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Dr. George’s family on Thursday, May 30th. from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Chiampa Funeral Home, 5 Church Road, On The Common, Shrewsbury. A mass of Christian burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 31st. at St. Rose of Lima Church, 244 W Main St, Northborough.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Kent State University Foundation for the benefit of the College of Podiatric Medicine, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, Ohio 44242 (memo: Dr. John E. George Memorial Scholarship).
The family wishes to thank the caregivers from Home Instead, the staff at Fresenius, Shrewsbury, the 6 West staff at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Rose Monahan hospice, and many caring neighbors and friends.
Those attending the mass are asked to go directly to church.
