Dr. Timothy M. George, 59, Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery, President of Dell Children’s Medical Group, mentor to dozens of his neurosurgery colleagues, prolific researcher in the areas of Chiari malformation, cranial nerve stimulation for pediatric epilepsy, genomics of neural tube defects, and other current neurosurgery topics, died unexpectedly on November 10 while participating in the four-hour Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore at Sebring International Raceway.
Dr. George was driving a No. 2 Ansa Motorsports LLC prototype race car when he began experiencing severe medical problems. He was able to drive the car onto the pit lane. Despite the best efforts of track medical personnel and later emergency room staff at the closest Sebring hospital, Tim George’s extraordinary life came to a premature end.
No cause of death has been announced.
Dr. Timothy George is survived by his wife Rosalind and his two sons Timothy Jr. (TJ) and Kevin.
An Extraordinary Life
Tim George, the youngest of three children, was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1960 to Carey and Gracie George. Amazingly, he knew at age four, after watching an open heart surgery on television, that he wanted to grow up to be a surgeon. His family remembers the young Tim George in much the same way his patients would later remember him in their notes following his death—calm, cool, collected and intensely interested in other people.
In his youth he was a camp counselor for children with disabilities and that, eventually, would lead him into a career in pediatrics. He also worked alongside his father as an apprentice plumber.
He was a proud graduate of Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, New York, where he not only excelled scholastically but was the starting point guard on the championship varsity basketball team.
Between high school and NYU med school, Tim attended Columbia University and, in his spare time, played plenty of round ball, DJ’d around New York City, developed his lifelong passion for sports cars and formed TIMARI.
Dr. George completed his residency in neurosurgery at Yale University and stayed to continue his neurosurgical training. He added subspecialty training in pediatric neurosurgery at Northwestern University.
In 1996 he moved to Duke University to join the neurosurgery faculty. It was in North Carolina where he met his future wife, Rosalind, and started a family.
Dr. George soon advanced to the rank of Associate Professor Tenure and built a busy practice focusing on pediatric congenital abnormalities and tumors. His colleagues remember Dr. George as a master technician and his patients remember a uniquely empathetic and compassionate physician.
In the many comments that have surfaced since his passing, it is clear that his patients absolutely loved him.
