Worcester_Dr. Edmond M. Koury, 86, of Worcester, a longtime physician with a solo internal medicine practice in Worcester, died October 11, 2018, at UMass Memorial Medical Center.
A first-generation Lebanese American, Edmond was born in Torrington, Conn., the son of Michael and Carmen (Saba) Koury. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology at the College of the Holy Cross and an MD at Boston University School of Medicine, where he met his future wife, Evelyn, then a Master of Education student at BU. They were married in 1958.
After graduating from BU, he began an internship at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester and two years later became chief resident. He completed his training at the VA Hospital in Buffalo, NY., and in 1962 returned to Worcester to begin practicing. By that time, he and Evelyn had three baby daughters.
In Worcester, he had appointments at a number of hospitals, but for most of his professional life he was affiliated with the now-closed Hahnemann Hospital. He relished the work. “For 20 years, it was a terrific place to practice,” he told his daughters. “The camaraderie and relationship of the staff, nurses, and administration made it an exciting environment.” When UMass Medical School was founded, he was appointed an instructor and later an assistant professor.
In 1984, he became president of the medical staff at Hahnemann, a one-year post, and was elected chief of medicine, serving in that role for almost six years. For a time, he was a medical doctor at what was then Worcester State Hospital and for the Masonic Home in Charlton, Mass.
He was a member of the American Medical Association and the Massachusetts Medical Society, and he was active in the Worcester District Medical Society, serving as secretary from 1975 through 1979.
After 37 years in practice, Edmond retired in 1999. He often reflected on his career in medicine and on the doctor-patient relationship. “At its very best, this relationship involves trust, respect, honesty, ease, and even affection on the part of both parties; the first three are indispensable,” he has said. “The result is a gratifying association between two people that seems to transcend the professional relationship.”
Following his retirement, he took a part-time job as a receptionist at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester. He enjoyed the work, and marveled at the staff who managed this “remarkable resource” and at the academics, poets, authors, and playwrights who came to the society to do their research. He recalled that when he started the job, he was treated with respect and courtesy, and as time went on less formally. “I began to be referred to as Dr. Ed, which I liked.” He worked at the society for 19 years, retiring in 2018.
Edmond was devoted to his family, taking them on regular vacations to Europe, Cape Cod, and Evelyn’s beloved beach in Ogunquit, Maine. He loved to read, putter in the yard, do crossword puzzles (always in pen), watch the Celtics, and listen to classical music. In later years, he took up photography, cooking, and writing poetry. His daughters published two books of his poems, The Air I Breathe and Two Little Words.
A man of few words, Edmond was quiet and reserved, but also warm and caring. His manner and his poetry revealed a sensitive, perceptive, and deep thinker.
Edmond is predeceased by his wife, Evelyn. He leaves three loving daughters, who made him so happy and proud: Anita Koury, and her husband, Theodore Costantino, of Boulder, Colo., Linda Koury of Chestnut Hill, Mass., and Cynthia Buccini, and her husband, Randy Buccini, of Portsmouth, N.H. He also leaves two sisters, Joyce Tamer and her husband, Joseph Tamer, of Shrewsbury, Mass., and Rosemary Koury of Brockton, Mass., as well as cousins and many friends from his career in medicine, the American Antiquarian Society, and Briarwood Community in Worcester.
Family and friends will honor and remember his life by gathering for calling hours from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, October 14, 2018 in Dirsa-Morin Funeral Home, 298 Grafton St., Worcester, Mass. His funeral will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Monday, October 15, in Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 256 Hamilton St., Worcester. Burial will follow at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Arlington, Mass. www.worcesterfuneral.com