Thanis George (Tony) Alexander |
| Posted 2009-12-20 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, Arizona Wednesday, January 15, 2003 Thanis George Alexander Ph.D. (Tony), passed away peacefully on Friday, January 10th, 2003, after a courageous battle with emphysema. Tony was born September 29th, 1927, in Athens, Greece. He arrived in the States as a student in 1945 and earned his bachelors degree at the University of Tampa, Florida. In 1949 he married Dawn Frances McLain of Pittsburgh, Pa. They returned to Pittsburgh where Tony received his masters and doctorate degrees in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. At the time, Tony was the youngest student (24 years old) ever to receive a doctorate at Pitt. After receiving his degree, Tony taught at the University's School of Economics and Business Administration. He was the author of numerous publications, and co-authored Success and Failure in Small Business. While representing the University at an international convention on economic affairs conducted in Switzerland in 1959, Tony was approached by the Greek Government of Konstantine Karamanlis and invited to serve as Economic Advisor to the Greek Ministry of Industry. In 1960, Tony, Dawn and their two young children, George, nine, and Victor, four, left for Athens for what was initially intended to be a two-years stay. The two years extended to a marvelous thirty-four. Upon completion of his two-year service with the Greek Ministry of Industry, Tony took part in his family's extensive business interests, which included shipping, insurance, tobacco exportation, and agency representation of such well-known international concerns as American Export Lines, Wrigley, Hoover, and Ford Motor Company. He and his brother Tasso also established from the ground up what became at that time the largest plastics and nylon-thread manufacturing concern in the Balkans. Education remained his primary love, however, and in 1967 he was offered the positions first as Business Manager and later Vice President of Pierce College, the oldest and most prestigious private college for women in Greece, an American institution chartered in Boston. During his charge over the next decade, and as a direct result of his inspiration, the school evolved into a coeducational institution and offered the first accredited MBA program in Greece in association with Northwestern University. Tony combed the Greek countryside regularly in search of gifted village youngsters who could profit from scholarships to attend college in Athens. And Tony promoted the college's basketball program by recruiting students from the University of Massachusetts: the college team evolved into one of the best college teams in Europe and its coaching staff later went on to coach the professional National Team of Greece. Among the many honors Tony received were citations in "Who's Who in the East" and "Who's Who in American Education", and the Key to the City of Athens for his work in the field of education. In 1994 Tony and Dawn came to Scottsdale. They had fallen in love with Arizona during visits to their son Victor's family in Paradise Valley. In his later years, his illness severely curtailed his activities, yet he took great pleasure in the company of his family. He spent his final year scanning over 7000 family photographs into his home computer, digitally preserving them on CD Rom. Tony was the kindest, most generous and loving husband, father and grandfather that a family could pray for. He is survived by Dawn, his loving wife of 53 years, his sons and daughters-in-law, George and Ruth of New York City and Victor and Hania of Paradise Valley, and his cherished grandchildren Adrienne, Liana, Evan, Justin and Melissa, his brother and sister-in-law Tasso and Mina of Athens, Greece, his sister Nina of Athens, Greece, and his brother-in-law Brig. General John McLain and his wife Pat of Sarasota, Florida. Services will be held on Friday, January 17th, 2003, at 2 p.m. at Christ Church of the Ascension, 4015 East Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Lung Association of Arizona, 102 W. McDowell Road, Phoeni, Az., 85003. Courtesy of Pat Wilson. |
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