JOLIET – Dr. Theodore Kanellakes, a leader in the Joliet medical community and one of the founders of Will-Grundy Medical Clinic, died Monday.
Kanellakes, 75, was an allergist with his own practice on Hammes Avenue while also taking leading roles in medical causes and institutions.
In addition to helping start the Will-Grundy Medical Clinic in which Kanellakes continued to be involved until his death, he had served at Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center as chairman of the Department of Medicine and president of the medical staff.
He remained involved with the hospital and was a member of the Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center Foundation Board at the time of his death.
Kanellakes also stayed involved with the Will-Grundy Medical Clinic, a free clinic in Joliet for indigent people in need of health care, ever since he and fellow doctors initiated its creation in 1988, said Shawn West, executive director of the clinic.
"He will be surely missed," West said Tuesday. "He was not only instrumental in the task force that started the clinic, he was instrumental in getting state legislation passed that not only made this clinic possible but other clinics like it."
Kanellakes encouraged passage "Good Samaritan" legislation that relieved volunteer doctors of liability so that free clinics could operate without the cost of medical malpractice insurance, West said.
"He not only cared about health care and the challenges of access to health care, but he cared about the health of the community," West said.
Kanellakes had served on the board of directors at the Illinois State Medical Society. He was a board member at the ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company, which was founded by the society, at the time of his death.
At Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Kanellakes "was a great liaison between the medical staff and the administration of the hospital. He understood both sides," said Ed Dollinger, immediate past chairman of the community leadership board at the hospital.
"We lost a good leader, friend and advocate for our community," Dollinger said. "He was willing to get involved and take on tough issues in our community."
Kanellakes joined Dollinger in 2016 when the two of them made a case to the Joliet City Council before it approved a Tax Increment Financing District to encourage investment in the medical and commercial buildings surrounding Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center.
Kanellakes argued that the hospital neighborhood often provides people with their first impressions of Joliet when they come to visit patients.
Presence Saint Joseph President Robert Erickson put out a written statement calling Kanellakes "a giant in terms of his impact in our community."
"He made a meaningful difference in the lives of his patients and throughout the broader community, and anyone who met Dr. Kanellakes was better because of it," Erickson said.
He had a 37-year medical career in Joliet and was recognized with many honors.
Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center presented Kanellakes the Pandola-Lewis Award in 2015 and the Founders' Award in 2012. He was a top finalist for the hospital's Physician of the Year Award in 2007.
He received the Lewis University De La Salle Award in 2008.
Kanellakes also was active in the Easter Seal Rehabilitation Center of Will-Grundy County and the Parent Advisory Board for Special Education for Joliet Grade School District 86.
He was raised in south suburban Harvey and served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1971 to 1973 at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, according to his obituary.
Visitation will be 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black Road, Joliet. Funeral services will be Friday beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the funeral home and continuing with a 9:30 a.m. service at All Saints Greek Orthodox Church, 102 N. Broadway St., Joliet. Interment will follow at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood.