Dr. George John Vlahakis Jr.

He was born in Madison, WI, to Virginia Meyer Vlahakis and George John Vlahakis, Sr., and

was the oldest of five children. His childhood and adolescence were filled with outdoor activities

such as hunting, fishing and hiking with his brothers, building many things including a boat, and

getting into plenty of mischief.

He completed medical school at the University of Wisconsin. After a psychiatric residency at the

University of Washington in Seattle, he moved with his wife Susan to Yakima where he began

forty rewarding years of medical practice in adult psychiatry. His work was his great joy and

honor in this life. He was also blessed with two daughters, Vanessa (a therapist in Boston) and

Meredith (an architect in Chicago), and one granddaughter, Isabella, now four years old and

always his “little peanut.”

Throughout his professional life, George was actively involved in the American Medical

Association (AMA), American Psychiatric Association (APA), YCMS (Yakima County Medical

Society), Washington State Medical Association (WSMA), and Washington State Psychiatric

Association (WSPA). He held numerous elected and board positions over the decades and was

honored with several offices and awards in various organizations.

George was a lifelong Renaissance man, a voracious reader and an avid seeker of knowledge.

He had a wide range of interests and he worked to master each new hobby. He was an avid

hiker, backpacker and birder with his wife for many years, and they shared a love of travel and

learning about wine. He loved working on car engines and building things, including models

and larger-scale metal/woodworking. He also loved astronomy; for many years he focused on

astrophotography, producing numerous beautiful shots of galaxies, nebula clusters, comets and

planets. Later, he took up bird photography and sought out indigenous birds in Washington State, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Texas, Canada, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. His latest pursuit was model train building.

George is predeceased by his parents, Virginia and George Vlahakis, and his in-laws, Margaret

and Arthur Grover. He is survived by his four siblings, Paul (Nancy) Vlahakis, Carrie (Bill)

Ostrander, Christine Vlahakis, and Mark (Diana Tesh) Vlahakis, as well as his wife of forty-eight

years, Susan Grover Vlahakis, and his daughters Vanessa (Freddy and Isabella Munoz)

Vlahakis and Meredith Vlahakis.

A memorial service will be held by Keith and Keith Funeral Home in 2021, dependent upon

COVID restrictions.