Lazaros N. Sotos, M.D., an orthopedic doctor who served patients at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital, passed away on Monday, June 19, 2023, at the age of 80.
Sotos was born on April 10, 1943, to Greek immigrant parents, Nicholas Stephen Sotos and Iphigenia Sakellariou Sotos.
He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964 and his medical degree from the School Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in 1968. He worked in the Pittsburgh steel mills to pay for medical school.
Sotos did his orthopedic residency at the University of Pennsylvania. But, before joining the staff of Armstrong County Memorial Hospital, he served in the United States Navy while stationed in Puerto Rico. He took care of the patients of the Kittanning, Pennsylvania, hospital for 42 years before retiring.
Besides having a passion for medicine, Sotos also loved language. Greek was his first spoken language, but he also could speak in English, Spanish, German, and Latin and even knew a little French. He always kept his many dictionaries handy.
He also always felt connected to nature, especially trees. His love and knowledge of trees paralleled medicine, his family said.
Sotos was very connected to his faith. His family said, “…as a man of unwavering faith, he was extremely humbled to have commissioned a stain glass icon that permanently resides in his family’s church in his parents’ hometown of Greece.”
He was most proud though of his sons and his grandchildren who gave his life new meaning.
Sotos is survived by his wife, Pamela; his two sons, Lazaros Sotos and Kyriakos Sotos, and his stepson, Jared Campbell. He also leaves behind his grandchildren, Cecilia, Bradley, and twins, Caroline and Juliette Sotos; and his niece and brothers.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his twin brother, Stephen Sotos.
