Theodore Lampros Megremis

Dr. Theodore Megremis came into this world the last of three children in the once beautiful and majestic city of Gary, Indiana on the 4th of March in 1937. His father had come to the United States alone on a ship (at age 13) from Greece, and settled in Gary for work in the steel mills. Young Ted loved growing up in the Region and graduated from Froebel High School as Salutatorian of the class of 1955.

Ted attended Depauw University for two years, until his father died of a heart attack in the Bethlehem Steel mill in Gary, at age 60.

With money tight, Ted then transferred to Indiana University to complete his undergraduate degree, and then began studying at the IU School of Medicine in 1959. His sister Georgia paid for his tuition, after their father's death, for the next 6 years from her teacher's salary.

In the summer of 1958 at a TV bandstand/sockhop in Cedar Lake, Teddy met the opinionated and unforgettable Bessie Larson. She went home that night, woke up her mother and said she found the man she would marry. True to her early prediction, they began dating and were married in 1963, immediately after Ted graduated from medical school. Soon after, Ted was drafted into the Army for two years of service, including twelve months in Vietnam, serving as Captain and platoon doctor for the 17th artillerary division.

After his military service, and after completing his residency in Indianapolis, the Megremis family moved to Bloomington in 1968 and never left.

Theodore spent his career as a radiologist, joining SIRA in 1968 as their third physician, after Hammer and McIntire. He had a career spanning 45 years as a Radiologist, and 32 years as a professor at the IU School of Medicine, including serving as Chief of Staff at Bloomington Hospital for 3 years, before finally retiring at age 82 in 2019. Among many honors, he was named prestigious Fellow of the American College of Radiology.

Ted's greatest passion in life are the Indiana Hoosiers, holding football and basketball season tickets for 51 years. He was thrilled to have witnessed the dawn of the Curt Cignetti era. Give 'em hell coach, and keep winning.

His favorite adult diversion was doubles tennis with Charlie McClary, Jim Ferguson and a rotating cohort of medical scalleywags, with beer breaks and dirty jokes at every changeover. They played every week for 30 years.

Theodore was known internationally as the only doctor who actually attended radiology meetings while on vacation.

Ted shares a birthday with the inventor of the x-ray, but swears this did not affect his decision to spend half his professional life in a dark room, reading film and saving lives.

Theodore is survived by his wife of 62 years, Bess Megremis, and three children -- Michael Megremis, Steven Megremis and Elizabeth Jones, and daughter Elise Kay Megremis -- and two grandchildren, Oliver and Dean.