From The Editor, 8/3/21
A major part of this publication is obituaries, statistically it is the most popular segment of this website. They are very important to loved ones and also to the funeral directors who are doing their best to properly represent the family in a time of loss. We try our best to present them in a respectful manner and I’ve personally read every obituary published.
These three recent obituaries are remarkable, and remarkably similar: All three were doctors, standouts, and left indelible marks on the world. I think its worth taking one more look at these gentlemen as great examples and great losses to many:
Dr. Walter(Wladyslaw) A. Orlowski lived a full life and that is an understatement. He is the only PhD in this crowd who we can’t report as the valedictorian of this high school class. Dr. Orlowski didn’t life a traditional high school life due to the horrors of World War II. If you ever met Walter, you would likely agree that he would have been the valedictorian!! Having had the pleasuring of visiting his home a few years ago, it was clear that this Doctor prioritized the pleasures of farm life and his family. Dr. Orlowski was an author, teacher, father, and husband:
Dr. Peter Gianas, was the valedictorian of the Wellsville High School Class of 1974 and that was just the beginning of his success. He left Wellsville for the brain trusts of John Hopkins University and George Washington University before settling in Starke, Florida, where he lived until his recent death. In the decades he spent in Florida, it is clear that, “Dr. Pete” made a big impact. He was the medical director for multiple central Florida counties and a big part of the Bradford County Fire Rescue operation. Gianas leaves the medical community which hundreds of thousands depend on, in mourning and scrambling to fill his big shoes.
The latest loss to the universe is another Wellsville High School Valedictorian, Dr. Michael Cook, Class of 1966. Cook was a great athlete and student, moving on to obtain degrees from Cornell University, Alfred University, and the University of Virginia. Michael was a fixture in the Durham community and enjoyed a long career at Duke University Medical Center. A great life, summed up in one friends quote: “If you can’t get along with Mike Cook, you can’t get along with anyone.”
