Thursday, December 30, 2021 marked the final day of rounds at the hospital for Dr. Joseph Anthony George, MD FACC and on Friday, December 31, 2021 officially marked his final day of work. After a 44 year career of work in Newburgh and 50 years of medicine practice, Dr. George has officially retired. He was not aware at all of this tribute for him from his family.

Dr. George was born and raised in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. It was there in Nairobi where he attended and graduated from Strathmore College of Arts & Science (today known as Strathmore University). He went on and received his medical degree from the University of Navarra School of Medicine in Pamplona, Spain in 1971. According to his wife Elizabeth, it was in Spain where Dr. George and she met while he was going to medical school. They married and moved to the United States in 1972, lived in Worcester, Massachusetts, working at Worcester City Hospital for a time. A few years later, the doctor and his family moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey. It was at Cooper Medical Center in Camden, NJ where Dr. George did his internal medicine residency. At Rutgers Medical School in Piscataway, NJ, the doctor did his cardiology fellowship. The doctor is also Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology.

In 1977, the family moved to Newburgh and it was here that the couple settled down and laid roots. The doctor and his wife have raised eight children, Genevieve, Andrew, Cristina, Teresa, Jean-Paul, Michael, Matthew and Catherine, all in Newburgh.

Here in the Hudson Valley, Dr. George first started in 1977 practicing internal medicine with Dr. Brewster Wolfe. In 1980, he started working with Dr. Susan Jensen, who joined the practice. In 1982, Dr. George decided to open his own office of practice on Fullerton Avenue as a Cardiologist. A few years later, Dr. Stephen Lazar later joined the practice and formed Mid-Hudson Cardiology. On July 1, 2011, Mid-Hudson Cardiology merged with Westchester Medical Center. Doctors Ahmad A. Hadid, John Tighe, and Ahmad B. Hadid later joined the new group with Westchester Medical Center.

Elizabeth George expressed pride in her husband and pride for his commitment to his work and career while serving all his patients over the years, even during the on-going pandemic. With the long day and night work shifts behind him, Genevieve said her father would always come home and continue to be a part of his children’s lives and will truly be missed by his patients and community. “He is the hardest working person that I know,” Genevieve said. “We’re so proud of him.”

Catherine is a nurse practitioner and she remembers her father would quiz and test her back then on medical terminology and subjects even before she entered the field. “Everything that I’ve become is because of my father,” Catherine said. As she progressed in her career and growing up, she remembers the patient’s stories told to her about the care and commitment her father had given to each of them.

Teresa said that her father continues to inspire her and her siblings through his commitment to his patients and family and his work ethic. The lessons she had learned growing up and seeing her father in his work, she has passed those to her own family. She remembered that her father once said, “when life becomes routine, you have to fight against that routine, everyday is a new day”.

Son Matthew also shared great pride for his father. He said he cherished the time with his father growing up even while he was working and providing for the family.

For daughter Cristina, she said several lessons she learned from her father were “the value of committing to meaningful work and consistently showing up with integrity and compassion.” She said that while living in the community, she would hear the impact her father had on the lives of so many of his patients and their families and to her it was inspiring to hear. She said she remembers that “they were always eager to share their deep appreciation for the care and kindness they received.”

Maintaining integrity, personal discipline, and having a hard work ethic while pursuing a life of learning and purpose are some of the many lessons that son Michael said he learned from his father. Michael thanks his father for his service to the community and sends love out to him. He and the rest of the family are looking forward to sharing in his father and mother’s next adventures.

Son Andrew said he remembered asking his father what his plans would be for retirement. The doctor’s response to that question was simply put “there’s still work to be done”. Andrew said that those words from his father resonated with him and displayed before him a man who dedicated his life to helping others. Andrew’s shares a message of congratulations on a successful and impactful career.

Son Jean-Paul said his father is a “dedicated doctor of integrity” but also a renaissance man as well. According to Jean-Paul, Dr. George learned the Spanish language just before entering into medical school in Spain. He also taught himself the art of creating stained glass pieces, cooking fine cuisine, playing guitar and ukulele, and is a sophisticated gardener. Jean-Paul said he has no doubt that his father will continue to contribute to his community by sharing his talents with others in retirement.

Nurse Joan Piskun said the doctor was a pleasure to work with and always professional. She remembered him always being busy, diligent with his patients and always proper. Even as the years progressed, they continued to work well together.

Heading into 2022, the doctor and his wife will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and are proud grandparents to several grandchildren.