George Thomas Strickland Jr. (Tom) died on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in his room at Kendal in Lexington. 

Though he is gone, he will not be forgotten. He was a healer, an educator, a trouble-maker, an instigator, a friend, a collaborator, a mentor to many, an above average scoutmaster, a fantastic father, and a devoted husband.

He left a large and indelible mark on the world of tropical medicine and infectious diseases. That was, other than Anne, his true passion. Up until a week before he died, he could tell you in detail the results of a study he had done 50 years ago. The research that he and his partners and students have done into Wilson’s disease, malaria, schistosomiasis, and hepatitis C have saved countless lives throughout the world. For many years he was the editor of Hunter’s Tropical Medicine, the defining textbook for medical students.

George Thomas Strickland Jr. (Tom) was born on April 20, 1934, in Goldsboro, N.C., to George Thomas Strickland I and Flora Ross Strickland. 

At the time Tom was born, his father worked financing cars for GMAC Finance out of Goldsboro. They moved every two years. He spent time in Raleigh, New Bern, and Cleveland during World War II. In New Bern he fell off his tricycle and hurt himself but got better after his parents bought him a cowboy suit. 

His early high school years were spent in Rocky Mount, N.C., where he lived for a while with his uncle Ollie and Aunt Anna Lee Bass. He later graduated from Needham Braughton High School in Raleigh, N.C., in 1952 where he excelled academically and played basketball.

Being raised a Tar Heel, Tom naturally moved on to the University of North Carolina, where he majored in history but also took all the requirements of the Pre-Med program. He pledged to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity but switched to the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity when he realized how much the Phi Delta’s drank. He worked many different jobs during college, including a couple of memorable summers up in Nantucket, but needed some help for medical school. The Navy stepped in and paid his way through UNC Medical School in return for a few years of service. Those few years ended up being a 25-year career in the Navy.

During his senior year he went on a bridge date with his friend Jim Blair and his girlfriend Carolyn Slack. His bridge partner that evening was a lovely young lady from Boones Mill, Va., named Anne Garst. There was an incident that night involving geese and ducks which threw Anne into his arms and, about a year later, they were married in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Feb. 13, 1960.

Tom’s Navy career took them to Nicosia, Cyprus, Bethesda, Maryland, Taiwan, and London, England. Toward the end of his Navy commission, Tom was instrumental in founding the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. 

After he retired as a captain in 1982, Tom lead a malaria research laboratory in Lahore, Pakistan, for the University of Maryland and ran projects in Egypt, Kenya, Brazil, the Philippines and other exotic locals. He even spent several years collecting ticks in Eastern Maryland seeking insights into Lyme’s Disease.

Meanwhile Anne had three boys in rapid succession and kept the train on the tracks. Tom found time to play basketball and football with the boys, take them camping with the boy scouts, and enjoyed gardening. He was a loving and caring and sometimes scary father, when he needed to be, but it was as a husband where he excelled.

When Anne was diagnosed with dementia, they moved from Baltimore to Lexington and became residents of Kendal at Lexington. Tom saw to it that she received the best care possible, spent many hours with her every day, and often brought her back to his cottage for weekends. He took loving care of her through each step of the dreadful disease.

Thank goodness he had a marvelous community of friends and relatives to help him through his later years. Tom enjoyed lectures, concerts, parties, excursions, bridge games, and meals with his many lovely compadres at Kendal.

Dr. Strickland is survived by his son George Strickland, his wife Anita Ogard and their daughter Chloe, son Paul Strickland, and son Kelly Strickland, his wife Carrie Strickland and their children, Caleb, Elsa and Jed. He is also survived by his close friend Caroline Hemmings. He was preceded in death by his wife, Anne Garst Strickland, and his brother, Ted Strickland.

A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. on March 22 at Kendal Hall in the Anderson Center, 160 Kendal Drive in Lexington, followed by a reception.