Dr. Gordon Jerome Azar, Sr., 85, of Atlanta GA, entered into eternal rest on July 10, 2020. He was born November 22, 1934 in Atlanta, GA to Nicholas George Azar and Mable Yarid Azar and attended Immaculate Conception School and Marist High School, where he was Valedictorian of the class of 1952. At Marist, Gordon was a multi-sport athlete, lettering in football, basketball, tennis and track. He was inducted into the Marist Athletic Circle of Honor in 2005 and received Marist’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2010. Though he was offered football scholarships to Georgia Tech and Duke and an academic scholarship to Notre Dame, Gordon chose to attend Emory University to realize his dream of becoming a physician. He completed his undergraduate studies in 3 years, graduating from the same institution with his MD degree in 1959. Gordon completed his residency in internal medicine as well as fellowships in endocrinology and cardiology at Piedmont Hospital. He then spent 2 years as a medical officer in the U.S. Public Health Service prior to entering private practice in Atlanta in 1965. Dr. Azar was a founding physician at Northside Hospital and was instrumental in its establishment and early growth, serving as Chief of Staff in 1979-1980. He retired in 2018 after serving his patients and Northside Hospital for 48 years. Among his many contributions to the medical community, he was lead author of the seminal article published in 1963, establishing the low carbohydrate/ketogenic diet subsequently used by Dr. Robert Atkins as the basis of the popular Atkins diet. Gordon was a parishioner of Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, an active member of their choir for 15+ years, an avid tennis player and a member of ALTA for many years. For 61 years, he was married to the love of his life, Amelia “Dolly” (Maloof) Azar, who preceded him in death in 2016. Theirs was a unique love story, having known each other their entire lives. Gordon was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
He was preceded in death by an infant son, Joseph. He is survived by his five children, Lynn Foley, Sharisse Johnson, Dr. Gordon Azar, Jr. (Jenny), Marcia Sullivan (Frank), David Azar (Jan), 14 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Due to Covid, the service will be immediate family only.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cancer Home, Folds of Honor, The Northside Hospital Foundation or St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
