Cover photo for Dr James Thomas Poulos's Obituary
Dr James Thomas Poulos Profile Photo
1926 Dr 2010

Dr James Thomas Poulos

December 7, 1926 — September 25, 2010

Dr. James Thomas Poulos died September 24, 2010, in Stillwater, OK at the age of 83. He was born December 7, 1926, in Bethlehem, PA, to Elsie Becker Poulos of Fountain Hill, PA and Thomas Poulos of Constantinople, Greece. He is survived by his sister, Helen Elizabeth Poulos of Bethlehem, PA. He joined the army at age 18 and served in World War II in the Pacific and in the occupation of Japan where he served in the Medical Detachment of the 25th Infantry Division. He was honorably discharged in 1946. Dr. Poulos and his sister were musically talented people who performed and studied violin from early childhood. James received a Bachelor of Music degree from Illinois Wesleyan in Performance, after which he taught at Beloit College in Wisconsin. He went on to Ohio State University in Columbus for his masters degree and then taught for four years at Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL where he also conducted several orchestras of young people and taught private lessons with great success. James was accepted with a Fellowship in Violin to Indiana University where he earned his doctorate with honors. Following this, he took time off to conduct the Northeast University of Louisiana Symphony. Dr. Poulos was appointed conductor and director of the Battle Creek Michigan Symphony and taught strings and theory at Olivet College. Finally, he taught strings, theory, conducting, and performed in the String Quartette at Pittsburgh State University in Kansas. During this time, Dr. Poulos passed his legacy of musical abilities on to many students that he mentored in their pursuit of excellence in the fine arts. Not only was he an outstanding musician, but he was also very talented as an artist. He carved, sketched, painted, and designed beautiful work which he frequently gave to friends and organizations. Mr. Jim (as he was known by many) retired to Stillwater, OK in 1997, where he was involved in a multitude of activities with his church (Salem Lutheran), and continued to train and mentor young musicians through lessons. He will be missed. A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, October 15th at 3pm at Salem Lutheran Church in Stillwater. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Salem Lutheran Church, 101 S Duck Street, Stillwater, OK 74074. Condolences may be sent online at pmcfh.com.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Dr James Thomas Poulos, please visit our flower store.

Guestbook

Photo Gallery

Visits: 0

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree