Founder of modern sleep research and sleep disorder medicine.
September 29, 1934 (Detroit, Michigan) – December 18, 2023 (Plantation, Florida)
Dr. Anthony (Tony) Kales was born in 1934 in Detroit, Michigan – the son of Greek immigrants, Demetrios and Demetra (Partalis) Kales, from the small Greek-speaking mountain village of Kato Lesnitsa in northern Epirus, directly on the border Greek-Albanian. . His native language was Greek and he learned English when he entered kindergarten. His childhood was marked by a rich cultural heritage that instilled in him a deep sense of identity and community.
Growing up, he excelled in school and was also very active in neighborhood sports, including football and basketball. When his father became disabled due to a series of small strokes, he took on many responsibilities within the family, helping his mother who took over as a partner in the family business, Pete’s Bar, and worked at various jobs before entering college. Wayne State University in the pre-medical program.
During his undergraduate years, Anthony actively participated in the ROTC program by participating in training exercises and military discipline. In 1961, he joined the Air Force Reserve as a first lieutenant in the Medical Corps. Over the next four years, he rose to the rank of captain, practicing with distinction as a psychiatrist. He was honorably discharged in 1965.
Anthony received his bachelor’s degree in 1956 with highest honors and induction into Phi Beta Kappa, and his M.D. in 1959. At Wayne State, he met his future wife, Joyce Danielski, a pharmacy student whom he encouraged to study medicine. The couple married in 1960, a partnership that lasted 63 years. In 1960, he entered the psychiatry residency program at UCLA. In 1962, while still a resident physician, he began research that would serve as the basis for the creation of the Sleep Disorders Clinic and Sleep Laboratory at UCLA, the first clinically integrated program of its kind in the world . Thanks to his pioneering research on sleep, he quickly rose to the rank of full professor at UCLA. In 1971, Dr. Kales, his wife, and three children moved to Hershey, Pennsylvania, where Dr. Anthony became the founding chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Penn State University College of Medicine and continued to direct the research program and sleep treatment for 28 years. .
During his career, Dr. Kales has been internationally recognized in the fields of sleep research, psychiatric education, and community psychiatry. His honors include: Wayne State University School of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award and New York Hellenic Medical Society Distinguished Physician of the Year. In 2003, he was recognized as one of the founders of Modern Sleep Research. In 2007 he received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Athens. He is the author or co-author of more than 300 scientific articles, several book chapters and six books. His reputation as a psychiatric educator is linked to his founding at Penn State, one of the nation’s premier psychiatry departments. In the field of sleep research, Dr. Anthony co-authored with Allan Rechtschaffen, PhD, a manual of standardized terminology, techniques, and scoring system for the sleep stages of human subjects, which was one of the most widely referenced publications in the field of sleep research. One of his highest honors was being recognized as one of the world’s few “founders of sleep disorders medicine,” a new medical specialty. Dr. Anthony retired as professor emeritus at Penn State with an endowed chair in sleep disorders medicine named in his honor.
He identified strongly with the Greek-American community and was dedicated to the preservation of Hellenism and the value of learning the Greek language. To further honor his parents and his Northern Epirotic roots, he obtained Greek citizenship. Although he studied the Greek language for only a year (his Greek school was closed due to World War II), he enjoyed teaching the Greek language to his grandchildren and helping them with their Greek schoolwork. He took great joy in helping them discover the “Greek roots” of common English words.
After their retirements, Drs. Kales spent summers and fall in Ann Arbor, Michigan and actively attended University of Michigan football games and provided care for their seven beloved grandchildren. They maintained their primary residence at Plantation Florida, a favorite place for children and grandchildren. In Florida and Michigan, they remained active in several Greek Orthodox churches, the AHEPA organization, and other Greek-American community affairs.
Dr. Kales was known for his generous spirit, offering his time, advice and financial support to countless individuals and family members. It embodied the spirit of the Greek concept filotimo literally meaning “friend of honor”, but capturing the concepts of dignity, respect, pride, hospitality and warmth. At its core, filotimo is about altruism, a force that drives individuals to think of others and the world around them, to give of themselves, to expect little in return, and to make a huge impact. Dr. Kales embodied filotimo in everything he did, notably through his philanthropy and mentorship, but also through his warm connections with everyone he met. His children and grandchildren fondly remember his ability to talk to anyone, from people at the grocery store to high-profile executives. It is truly one of his greatest legacies, as it allowed him to instill his advice and wisdom in everyone he met and teach his family the power of human connection.
He was a lifelong sports fan, particularly of the University of Michigan teams. Although football was his passion and he had Wolverines football season tickets for over 20 years, he also followed basketball (with frequent John Wooden quotes), hockey (his first date you with Joyce was a Detroit Red Wings game), women’s softball and other. the team his grandchildren were on. Dr. Kales loved sharing his subscriptions to connect with friends and family, including his grandchildren. It’s especially wonderful that the Wolverines are the Big 10 champions this year in Dr. Kales’ “final season.”
Dr. Kales loved music, art and had an extensive vocabulary. One of his favorite gifts to all the young people he mentored was “30 Days to a Stronger Vocabulary.” His sense of humor was lively and sharp and many of his “Pappou-isms” will live on in his grandchildren. Dr. Kales was also known to distribute “Pappou dollars” to his grandchildren and others he considered close to the family.
He was dedicated to philanthropy. He and his wife funded Three Hierarchs scholarship programs at three different Greek Orthodox churches: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania; St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Their strong commitment to the revitalization of Detroit has been demonstrated through their support of Wayne State University, as members of the Anthony Wayne Society and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In addition to those at Wayne State University, they have supported several endowment programs at the Penn State University School of Medicine and the University of Michigan. In 2009, Dr. Anthony Kales received the Hellenic Heritage Award for his dedication to the advancement of the Greek American community and the broader community in the greater Detroit area.
Dr. Kales was predeceased by his parents and his older brother, Nicholas. He leaves his wife, Dr. Joyce Danielski Kales and his children, Dr. Stefanos Nicholas Kales (Ana), Dr. Helen Christine Kales and James (Dimitri) Kales, MLA and 7 grandchildren: Stefania and Arianna Kales, Anastasia, Sophia and Theodore Gibson. , and Alexandra and Zoe Kales.
Visitation will be held on December 27, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with Trisagion services at 7:30 p.m. at TM Ralph Funeral Home, 7001 NW 4th Street, Plantation, Florida. Funeral services will be held at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 820 NE 14th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 10 a.m. on December 28, 2023. Burial will be in Lauderdale Memorial Park. A memorial/remembrance of life will be held in Ann Arbor, Michigan in February/March. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Ann Arbor, Mich., or the Cathedral Greek Orthodox Holy Trinity in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Arrangements entrusted to TM Ralph Plantation Funeral Home, (954) 587-6888 www.tmralph.com
Posted on December 20, 2023
Published in The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press
