'Peacemakers of the Year' set example
for service in retirement and life

It is a simple record of caring for others that could serve as an example for us all:

Eight trips to the Gulf Coast near New Orleans to help fix the catastrophic damage wreaked by Hurricane Katrina; a month at a Heifer International farm in Arkansas where they rented a house and labored by day; one a volunteer at Crossroads and Gleaners; the other works at Habitat for Humanity each day.

One is organizing and planning an international mission trip to Honduras next year and both were instrumental in getting the kitchen repainted at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit so the recipients of the Everyone Eats program could dine in fresh surroundings.

Jim and Mary Garlough of the Park are both retired teachers from the Grosse Pointe Public Schools system. Jim, who started his career as a football coach, ended it at South teaching Advanced Placement history courses. Mary, once the South choir director, ended her career a few yards from their home as a music teacher at Defer.

They are long-time members of Grosse Pointe Memorial Church in the Farms, where Jim has served as an elder and deacon, on the Christian Education Council, nominating committee and on an associate pastor search committee. Mary has served as a Deacon, a member of the Parish Life and Outreach councils, directed grade school choirs and helped keep the gardens surrounding the church looking sharp.

Recently the pair was named the 2009 Peacemakers of the Year for the 1,200-member Presbyterian congregation.

As Mike Marston of the Farms, the Outreach Council chair, put it simply in the church’s Carillon publication: “By their example, they have led our congregation doing the Lord’s work.”

That should leave all of us reflecting on what we plan to do when we retire.

Pediatricians are Special

Good pediatricians are special. They don’t choose to treat children by accident. The best ones have big hearts, a sense of humor and genuinely like the little folks for whom they care. They enter your lives at an important moment and become integral to a family’s wellbeing.

So when 53-year-old Dr. George Kouskoulas died Nov. 11 from complications following heart surgery it shocked the folks who looked at him as a caring friend as well as a great doctor.

Dr. Kouskoulas loved life. He ran, played soccer and golf. He attended Finney High School, Wayne State University and graduated from the University of Patras Medical School in Greece. He is survived by his wife Denise and his daughters Mariana and Chrisa, who shared his love of soccer.

He interned at St. John Hosplital, worked at Grosse Pointe Pediatrics and then opened his own practice in Harper Woods. He specialized in working with children with attention deficit disorders and autism and, according to his family, ran a child care facility next to his practice for years.

Nearly a hundred folks took time to post 10 pages of tributes to Dr. Kouskoulas on the mytributes.com website. They came from all over the metro area.

Here is a sample of what they said about him:

“Dr K was the greatest doctor that ever lived. I always thought of Dr. K as my best friend. I have known him since I was six months old and I had not known any other doctor as special, kind, loving, caring respectful and thoughtful. . . .” a Roseville resident.

“Dr K exuded a pure joy and celebration of childhood. He was a central figure in our lives for more than 21 years. There were tough moments and also visits when he was leading us in unbridled laughter. We will never forget him taking time to admire a beautifully chubby baby, or to talk in earnest about sports with a nine-year-old boy, or to calmly put things in perspective for a teenage girl. He worked to know our children, to advocate for them and to never settle for ‘good enough’—he always wanted the best for (and from) our kids.” A Woods resident.

“We were one of Dr. K’s first patients when he started his practice. He took excellent care of our four children, always going the extra step with them, they thought of him as a Dr. and a friend"—a Royal Oak family.

Dr. K’s services were at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in St. Clair Shores on Nov. 14. He was buried in Cadillac Memorial Gardens East in Clinton Township. 

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