[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 113 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E704-E705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING DR. STEPHEN PAPPAS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GUS M. BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 9, 2024

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the 
life and legacy of Dr. Stephen Pappas. A lifelong Washingtonian, 
Stephen was born in 1930 to the late Steve and Georgia Pappas and was a 
proud graduate of Western High followed by his ophthalmology residency 
at Episcopal Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital. In 1961, Dr. Pappas 
completed his clinical fellowship in the retina service at Harvard's 
teaching hospital, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, in Boston. He 
returned to Washington as the first formally fellowship-trained retina 
specialist in the region. A deeply patriotic American, Dr. Pappas was 
honored to serve as Chief of Ophthalmology at the Naval Dispensary in 
Washington, D.C. from 1961 to 1963, rising to the rank of Lieutenant 
Commander. He later served as a civilian consultant at the National 
Naval Medical Center in Bethesda from 1968 to 1976. In 1963, he founded 
his solo ophthalmology practice, providing compassionate, state-of-the-
art care. In 1978, he moved his growing practice, Retina Consultants, 
from the District to Bethesda. One of the founding members of the 
Washington Hospital Center Retina Clinic,

[[Page E705]]

he supervised and trained generations of ophthalmology residents as a 
volunteer from 1963 to 1994. He was also assistant clinical professor 
in Ophthalmology at both GWU and Georgetown. He continued to value his 
professional relationships with mentors, peers, and mentees for his 
entire career and beyond. His distinguished career was marked by many 
local and national accolades. Despite these remarkable professional 
achievements, Dr. Pappas will most be remembered as a man of faith who 
was truly devoted to his beloved wife of 62 years, Virginia (Ginny) 
Nicoludis Pappas, as an incredible father to Dr. Stephen Pappas, Jr. 
(Michelle) and Adrienne Kalavritinos (Jack), and as a loving papou to 
his four grandchildren: John, Analiese, Mark, and Alexander. He was an 
active, early member of the St George Greek Orthodox Church in 
Bethesda, MD. Faith, family and friends were paramount in his life. His 
remarkable ability to connect through his warmth, sense of humor, and 
genuine caring will be remembered by all who knew him. May his memory 
be eternal.

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