George was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia to parents who immigrated from Chios, Greece. After high school George attended West Virginia University where he graduated with a degree from the School of Pharmacy. He was the first in his family to attend college and upon graduation he joined the army and served during the Korean War.
After his service, George took a position with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Washington, DC. It was here that he met the love of his life Lurania Kalontouros. They went on to marry and eventually moved to Mendham, New Jersey where they raised their two children while George worked for Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
After the children left for college, George took an early retirement from his successful career, and he and Lurania decided to travel across the country in their trailer. On this trip they fell in love with Boulder, Colorado and decided to make it their new home. While they built a new home, George decided to return to work, first developing the marketing department for Geneva Generics in Broomfield, CO and later creating a pharmaceutical direct marketing company partnering with his daughter Georgette. Their company, PromoTech Research Associates, Inc., grew steadily over 12 years of business and was acquired by the public company Snyder Communications in 1999.
George fully retired at this point and spent his time enjoying his two grandchildren, painting, gardening, and traveling all over the world with his wife. He also set up scholarships at the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy for students in need of financial support.
For the last 40+ years George and Lurainia have made Colorado their home and George is survived by his wife Lurania, daughter Georgette Topakas and husband Raymond Hicks (Montecito, CA), son Alexander Topakas and wife Becky McCarty (Boulder, CO), and two grandchildren, Laurel (San Francisco, CA) and Phillip Hicks (New York City, NY). George was a life-long learner whose wisdom, humor, affection and sharp mind will be greatly missed and always remembered.
GRAVESIDE SERVICE
Thursday
November 11, 2021
10:00 AM
Longmont Mountain View Cemetery
620 11th Ave
Longmont, CO 80501
