MAJOR (RETIRED) GEORGE GABRIEL “DOC” RAKOLTA

Major (Retired) George Gabriel “Doc” Rakolta, 88, of Toledo, Ohio, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at home. George was born November 7, 1936, at home in Detroit, Michigan, the youngest of the four children of Emilian “Milan” Rakolta, Sr., and Florence “Flora” Maria (Pereny) Rakolta, immigrants from the Transylvania region of Romania. As a toddler, George was stricken with polio, and was quarantined with his maternal grandparents, Peter Perenyi and Maria (Sas) Perenyi for over a year in Detroit. He credits his grandmother with the complete resolution of his polio, as she massaged and exercised his legs so thoroughly, he suffered no lasting effect. George’s family eventually relocated to Highland Park, Michigan, as his father worked at Chrysler, manufacturing “pom-pom” anti-aircraft guns used in World War II.

While at Highland Park High School, George was in the National Honor Society, was elected the 11th grade treasurer and homeroom president, played football and baseball, tried track and field, and eventually graduated as valedictorian of the senior class in 1955. He enrolled at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a Regent Merit scholarship, and in three-and-a-half years, was admitted to the University of Michigan College of Medicine, graduating in 1962. He chose Orthopaedic Surgery as his area of interest, and he subsequently joined the U.S. Army as he furthered his career.

In 1958, while attending the University of Michigan, and working as a janitor at the Neuman Center, George was captivated by a young woman who would come prepare the altar at St. Mary’s Chapel for Sunday Mass; for over a month’s time, he actively and diligently searched to find out who she was. He was finally able to locate who she was, and arranged a blind date with her, thus beginning a sixty-seven-year romance with the “love of his life”, Marie Antoinette “Toni” Sciullo. They were married September 11, 1960, at St. John the Baptist Romanian Byzantine Church in Detroit, Michigan, and quickly began their family, having their first six children in their first eight years of marriage. It was noted by his older children that every time Dad was at home making pancakes for breakfast, Mom brought home a new baby!

George and Marie and family traveled frequently in those first years, from Ypsilanti, Michigan, to Eloise, Michigan, at Wayne County General Hospital, to Fort Riley, Kansas, and then on to San Antonio, Texas, at Brooke General Hospital. While in San Antonio, Texas, he was deployed to Da Nang, Vietnam, serving at the 95th Evacuation Hospital, a 320-bed military hospital that provided medical support to troop and civilian casualties of the Vietnam War, from February 1969 to March 1970; Toni remained in San Antonio with their six young children. As an Orthopaedic Surgeon, he became quite proficient in treating all types of medical conditions and traumatic injuries. To keep in touch with his children, he would send audio cassette tapes of him reading a Vietnamese children’s book and taking 35 mm. picture slides of the pages to be set up in a projector to be played by them at home. When he returned home, his youngest daughter, Charlotte, who was only three weeks old at his departure, did not accept him readily, causing some consternation among his other children that she would have to be given away!

Following his service in Vietnam, George and his family were transferred to Sandia Army Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he retired from military service as a Major, and then became the Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of New Mexico. The family later moved to Harlingen, Texas, and then, desiring to be closer to George and Toni’s parents, they moved to Port Huron, Michigan.

In late 1974, George decided to move to Toledo, Ohio, to practice at Mercy Hospital. He resided at the historic Hillcrest Hotel until his family joined him in March 1975. He thoroughly enjoyed his private practice and maintained close communications and friendships with many of his patients throughout the years, even traveling to visit old Vietnam War patients during his vacations. He held all people in high regard and had genuine interest in their lives, practicing what he called “old-fashioned medicine”, making sure that everyone received excellent care regardless of their background or circumstances. George was an avid storyteller, and he had an extraordinary memory, recalling where patients lived, what their jobs were, who their family members were, and any interesting or unusual events in their lives. He would be especially excited if you shared his interests, such as repairing small engines, flying model airplanes, assembling model trains, or selling “Sun sugar” tomato plants in the spring! He knew a smattering of languages and would often converse with patients in their native tongues, including Romanian, Hungarian, Polish, German, Spanish and even some Vietnamese. He had patients who would travel to Toledo from places he had previously worked to continue their care with him.

George was well respected and appreciated by his peers as well, knowing that he would treat each person as if they were one of his own family. He practiced for over twenty years at Mercy Hospital, and held positions as Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chief of Surgery, and Chief of Staff, before eventually retiring from practice.

Once retired, he continued his friendships and concerns in caring for others. He was known to perform “house-calls” often, reviewing medical records and x-rays to render advice to those he had treated for years. He held “Mercy Reunions” for all he worked with, appreciating the time they had spent together in patient care, and desiring to maintain the “family” connection they had with each other.

He further perfected his “jack of all trades” persona. He became a proficient gardener, seeding and growing plants first in his basement, and then later transplanting his plants at his eldest daughters’ property in Temperance, Michigan. They produced scores of vegetables and herbs over two to three acres each year for many years, freely giving to friends, patients, a few local churches and the Sisters at the Monastery of the Visitation, and the food bank in Sylvania, Ohio. He maintained and repaired his own farming equipment but was mostly on his hands and knees weeding and watering the plants himself. He visited auctions and garage sales and became quite proficient on Ebay and Marketplace. His mottos were “what is one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” and “the work never ends”, until eventually after many years, his own health issues became an impediment. Even then, he continued working at home, chronicling and archiving family history, repairing and rebuilding computers, and planting a large flower garden for Toni in their backyard each spring. There was always a “project” to be done! As their family nest emptied, George and Toni enjoyed working jigsaw puzzles together, visiting with friends and playing bridge at Sylvania Senior Center. Rummikub became an every-night family ritual, with fierce competition and score cards to be logged.

George and Toni had seven children together, and were additionally blessed to adopt their eighth child, Brenda Denise, born at Mercy Hospital in 1979, with the severest form of a genetic disease, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or brittle-bone disease. With George’s orthopaedic background, and Toni’s physical therapy background, they were able to provide Brenda with specialized loving care throughout her nineteen years, and in return, experienced an even deeper appreciation of the gift of life. Their spirituality was extremely important, being members of Christ The King Catholic Church, enjoying services with friends at Five Lakes Church in Sylvania, Ohio, attending Bible studies and prayer groups, and donating to and volunteering in many causes.

As Toni’s health began to suffer, George became her steadfast companion and caregiver but eventually lost the “love of his life” on June 17, 2025, and thereafter, wanting to be with her again as soon as God was willing, lived on for exactly seventeen weeks.

Besides their daughter Brenda (1998), George was preceded in death by his parents, Milan Rakolta (1977) and Flora (Pereny) Rakolta (1996), his brothers John Rakolta, Sr. (2003) and Milan Rakolta (1952), his sister Cornelia “Nellie” (Rakolta) Krekan (2019), and his grandson Bradley A. Lorenzo (2009).

He is survived by his loving and devoted children, Laura Lorenzo, of Temperance, MI; Georgia (Kevin) Kadlec, of Rocky River, OH; Pamela Flere, of Piney Flats, TN; Milan (Misty) Rakolta, of Olathe, KS; Matthew (Christine) Rakolta, of Imperial, PA; Charlotte (Kirk) Duclaux, of Arezzo, Italy; and G. Michael (Melissa) Rakolta, of Cary, NC. He was blessed to have eighteen grandchildren, Larry III (Beth) Lorenzo, Kendra Lorenzo-Ruiz, and George R. Lorenzo (Jacqueline Holm); Genevieve (Matthew) Stroebel and Matthew (Lily) Kadlec; Charlotte and Samuel Flere; Colleena (Duy) Ho and Mikayla, Hannah, and Joseph Rakolta; Colin Rakolta; Alessio and Max Duclaux; and Benjamin, Nathan, Gregory and Andrew Rakolta. He also cherished his seven great-grandchildren, Ava, Jared and Maya Lorenzo; Owen and Shawn Stroebel; Gabriel Flere; and Gavin Ho. He leaves several nieces and nephews and cousins to cherish his memory, and he will be greatly missed by his dearest friends, Sarah Anne Morales, Jeff and Grace Silliman, Gary Burk and John Glinka.

The family would like to extend their deepest heartfelt thanks to Dad’s dear friend and physician assistant, Kenneth Chisholm, who provided medical care and comfort, especially in his final days, Hospice of Northwest Ohio for their support and guidance, and others who gave loving assistance.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 19, 2025, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Walker Funeral Homes and Crematory, 5155 W. Sylvania Ave., Toledo, Ohio, with a Reading of Scripture at the end of the visitation. On Monday, October 20, 2025, visitation will be held from 9:30 am to 10:30 am in the narthex at Christ the King Catholic Church, 4100 Harvest Lane, Toledo, Ohio. A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 10:30 am, with interment immediately following at Ottawa Hills Memorial Park, 4210 Central Ave., Toledo, Ohio. A luncheon will be held in the Fellowship Hall of Christ the King Catholic Church following the interment.

In lieu of flowers, the family has lovingly requested donations may be made to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, Inc. (OI Foundation), 656 Quince Orchard Rd., Suite 650, Gaithersburg, MD 20878 (http://oif.org/); The Visitation Sisters at the Monastery of the Visitation, 1745 Parkside Blvd., Toledo, OH 43607; or a charity of your personal choice.