Dr. Basil Elias Economopoulos

He was born in Athens, Greece in 1929. As a child he smuggled guns in his school book bag past Nazi forces, while his family sheltered Jewish families. During the Great Famine he foraged for food, and was separated from his family for two years during the Greek Civil War. His family was from the village of Alagonia, between Sparta and Kalamata, descendants of the ancient Spartans.

He was top of his class in school, and emigrated to the United States in 1964. He worked at the Washington Hospital Center for 36 years, where he was a highly respected anesthesiologist and Chairman of Cardiac Anesthesia. He was also an associate professor of cardiac anesthesia at George Washington School of Medicine. He placed the first Swan-Ganz heart catheter in D.C., and was on the team that performed the first heart transplant in the region. In 1987 he became the first foreign-born physician to earn the Gold Headed Cane award, honored as top doctor at the Washington Hospital Center. He was included in an exhibition on modern medicine at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

Beyond medicine, he was a true intellect, passionate about the classics, philosophy, history, literature. An active member of the Hellenic Society Prometheas. A connoisseur of classical music. A lover of soccer. And a 5-star teller of dirty jokes.

A devoted and beloved father and grandfather, he is survived by his wife of 53 years, Anne Marie Mian, and their three children: Elias and his wife Helen, Aristide, and Beka and her husband Jason, as well as three grandchildren, Vasilis, Daphne, and Mila Amie.

Funeral services will be held at St. Bartholomew’s Church on Wednesday, February 2nd, 10:30am, 6900 River Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817.