Dr. Eleftherios Halivopoulos of Metuchen died July 30, 2010, at JFK Medical Center, Edison, he was 81 years old. Dr. Halivopoulos was born in Verria, Greece, on March 16, 1929 and was a resident of Metuchen for 46 years.

Eleftherios Halivopoulos spent his childhood in Thessaloniki Greece. Growing up as the youngest of 6 children, Leftheri, excelled in science and sports, especially soccer. At the age of 16 he joined the professional soccer team Aris in Thessaloniki, as a forward, and ultimately became the Captain of the Greek National Soccer Team in 1949. At the same time, he attended the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, where he ultimately earned his medical degree in 1954.

After graduation, Dr. Halivopoulos served as a Lieutenant in the Medical Corps of the Greek Army and was a resident physician at the 424th Military Hospital in Thessaloniki. While serving in the army he met and fell in love with an American woman, Frieda Farganis, and they married in December 1956 and subsequently moved to the US where he received his American citizenship in 1961.

Dr. Halivopoulos completed his Pediatrics Fellowship at Lincoln Hospital, affiliated with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. He started his private practice in Edison in 1962 and in 1964 he founded Metuchen Pediatrics Associates located on Amboy Avenue in Metuchen. Dr. Halivopoulos touched the lives of thousands as an expert diagnostician and caring physician throughout his career and served as the Chief of Pediatrics of JFK Medical Center during the late '60s and the late '70s. His personable and caring demeanor spanned more than 4 decades in the medical field until his retirement in 1995.

Throughout his adult life Dr. Halivopoulos was a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the Hellenic Medical Society. He was also a member of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church of Perth Amboy. An avid Yankee fan and great follower of worldwide soccer, Leftheri always retained and advocated his sportsman's love for exercise and fitness for himself, family, friends and patients. He was an avid student of History, especially the World War II era, and enjoyed world travel and spending quality time with his family, especially his grandchildren.

Dr. Halivopoulos is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Frieda Halivopoulos, his two children, E. Lori Halivopoulos and George Halivopoulos, his son-in-law Brian Szepkouski and daughter-in-law Lisa Marie Halivopoulos, 4 grandchildren Hannah, Kyle, Georgie and Stephen, and his brother Costas in Greece. His extended family of brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews, and godchildren in Greece and the United States will all miss him dearly.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 2-4 & 7-9 PM with a Triasagion service at 8 PM at the Flynn and Son/Koyen Funeral Home, 319 Amboy Ave., Metuchen, NJ. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 10:15 AM at Flynn and Son/Koyen, followed by an 11 AM service at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Perth Amboy. Following the Funeral, burial services will be held at the Hillside Cemetery at 1401 Woodland Avenue in Scotch Plains, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to JFK Medical Center Foundation, in memory of Dr. Eleftherios Halivopoulos, 80 James Street, Edison, NJ 08820.