George Zavitzianos, 1906-1995

On December 13, 1995, George Zavitzianos died at the age of 86. Contrary to the admonition of Dylan Thomas, he did go quietly into that good night, dying in his sleep. He had retired to Maryland the previous year.

With his death our Society loses one of its originals who contributed so much to the development of psychoanalysis in Canada. He was one of the pioneers, coming to Montreal in 1951. He joined what was at that time the Psychoanalytic Club. The brainchild of certain members of the Allan Memorial Institute interested in Psa, it soon attracted many who also wished to pursue the study of psychoanalysis, a good number of whom subsequently became analysts. George played an active part in the club, bringing to life and keeping alive the dream of developing Psa in Montreal. The result was a McGill program and eventually a society after it was recognized by the International Psychoanalytic Association in 1957.

During the early years between 1951 and 1953, George was an active participant in the planning for the Society and seeking its recognition, first through the American Psychoanalytic Association, then through sponsorship by the British Psychoanalytic Society. The stumbling-block for American recognition was the issue of lay analysts Montreal already had several lay analysts and insisted on their inclusion as a principle of the Society. These pioneers worked tirelessly in these efforts and finally succeeded.

The desire for analysis in Montreal was demonstrated by how quickly Georges time was filled from the ranks of residents and staff in psychiatry. I was fortunate to be accepted as one of this early group. The George I met then impressed me with the quiet-spoken courteousness of the prototypically European gentleman. Over the years from analysand to colleague, I found that aspect of him never changed.

The sketchy details of his biography are that he was born in Corfu, Greece, and went on to France for his medical education and subsequent