Phaedon Papadopoulos Obituary (1946 - 2025)

Dr. Phaedon Panagiotis Papadopoulos passed away on October 28th, 2025 at HCA Houston Healthcare Mainland in Texas City, Texas, with his loving wife Kathy by his side; they shared seventeen years of marriage. Born in Thessaloniki, Greece on February 4th, 1946, Phaedon was born to Panagiotis and Eugenia Papadopoulos, their second child after Phaedon’s big sister, Athena. He attended the historic Fifth High School of Thessaloniki where he excelled academically. He joined the Nautical Club of Thessaloniki, the oldest yacht club in Macedonia, where he competed in both sailing and rowing crew; he would ultimately join the Greek Olympic Rowing Team in the late 1960’s. Phaedon attended Aristotle University of Thessaloniki where he earned a Bachelor Degree in Applied Science and Mathematics, then emigrated to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1972 where he took master courses in Computer Science and Spatial Analysis at Harvard University. He then moved to Norman, Oklahoma upon being invited to pursue his doctorate at the University of Oklahoma in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Business Administration; he was the first PHD student at the University to obtain a PHD integrating these three distinct academic fields. Phaedon married Isabel Feliciano, a fellow student at the University of Oklahoma and they moved to Houston, Texas, when he accepted a job at Shell Oil. They raised two sons, Panagiotis Antonio and Phaedon Alexander. Phaedon also taught in the MBA programs at Rice University and Houston Baptist University; he consistently received the highest student reviews at both institutions. After the passing of his first wife, Phaedon married Kathy Lynn Johnson in 2008, and they built homes together in Houston, Abilene, and most recently, Texas City, with their two boxers, Bella and Riley. Phaedon enjoyed cooking for his friends and family and was known by all as the quintessential host. He was a lover of classical music and opera, often moved to the point of unabashed tears at live performances. He was a self-proclaimed whiskey aficionado and incorrigible lover of chocolate and key lime pie, the latter of which Phaedon attempted to order at countless restaurants which do not serve said dessert. Perhaps above all else, Phaedon loved the water. Whether it was a sailing race on the Aegean or a rowing regatta on the Rhine River or a fishing expedition off Zihuatanejo, Phaedon was at his most peaceful on the water. After he retired, Phaedon restored an old Catalina 42 Sailboat and obtained his Captain’s License from the American Sailing Association. Phaedon is survived by his wife, Kathy, his stepson, Brad Hudson, his two sons, Phaedon and his husband, Tate, Panagiotis and his wife, Caitlin, and their daughter, Phaedra. He was beyond a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather, and known by all who loved him as a man with the biggest heart and giver of the best hugs on Earth. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, a charity which Phaedon supported for more than thirty years.