Demos T. Kyrazis

On December 3, 1930, a son was born to Demos Theodore Kyrazis and Angelica Drepanos Kyrazis in Springfield, Mass. They named him Demos Theodore Kyrazis. A second son George, followed with children Teeg, Geeter, and Kersten. Wife Jan, is deceased.

Demos’ childhood was in New York City, where he remembered to have learned english while playing with the kids in the street, and going to grade school. A move to New London, Conn. began the formative years and his interest in science and flying. He reportedly assembled rooms full of model airplanes. Being an honor student, he easily traveled up the road to Boston and into Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). And his “ Book of Learning and Sharing” began.

Two years later, Korea was becoming and interesting threat. And Demos joined the Airfare. The return from flying duty in Korea gave him his first assignment in the technical field in Aeromedical Laboratory, Wright Patterson, Air Force base, Dayton, OH.

Frances Joanne Roush was an office manager at Aeromedical. They were married June 12, 1955, and recently celebrated their 70th anniversary.

Demos was a dedicated member of the Air Force for 30 years, including taking advantage of the opportunity to extend his education. BS- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA- Ohio State University, Ph.D.- University of California, Davis. He was fortunate enough to have only technical Air Force assignments that took advantage of it. The early years were in Foreign Technology and Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, as a research associate provided many interesting projects. He was especially appreciative of having had the opportunity to work with Dr. Edward Teller and Dr. Hans Mark.

The last ten years of Demos’ Air Force career were devoted to the Capital Airborne Laser Laboratory that started with his assignment to NASA/ Ames in Sunnyvale California. Their wind tunnel work was his first contribution to the Lab. A move to Albuquerque’s Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, allowed for full devotion to that project and the accomplishment of its purpose. His team was exceptional and he very much appreciated working with them. He retired in 1982.

Following his plans for a bit of a “Lesser schedule” much of the immediate Christmas Season touched on why he couldn’t pass his flight physical. Untreatable Leukemia was suspected. Further testing pointed toward the unusual Hairy Cell Leukemia. At the same time, it was reported that work being done in Europe was having moderate success in countering it with Interferon. Following the Demos term” Life of good luck”, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center was starting their study as well. Demos was accepted a possible candidate. On February 4, 1984, he and Joanne were in Houston to learn that he qualified as Patient Number Six to join their study. They both were asked to sign that he would go for the full one year that would be needed. They returned every twenty eight days for that year to see Nurse Donnah Jones who monitors the study. He was satisfied that he didn’t just get a remission, but that it had bought him his life. And he went back to his mode of operation of learning and sharing and he had not just been involved in learning. HE was Patient Number Six.

And now - with a new life with a bundle of energy, he listened to the persuasive friends who believed he should come back to Livermore and to the “Big Laser”. In 1986 Demos joined the laser program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as Operations Manager for the Nova Laser facility - at the time the largest laser ever constructed and the premier facility in the world for inertial confinement fusion and high-energy density physics research. Demos greatly enjoyed his years at Livermore shepherding the “Big Laser” through its challenging experimental schedule and directing the technical development and fielding of important improvements to its precision, energy and power. In 1993 he retired from LLNL.

Back to Albuquerque, we would be starting a company and the name would be R - 3 standing for three retirements. HIS plan would be that he would have unlimited flying time, work on whatever interested him, or help anyone who wanted it, and his title would be Technical Director. Joanne would be President and do the rest. Her final task was to close the Company in 2023 and try for a new definition of “retirement”.

Unfortunately, Demos fortitude was no match for his kidney disease. His recent six months of care at the local VA Hospice unit cannot be surpassed. Joanne and all of his visiting friends are indeed appreciated. And as we note in his book of life, as the last pages turn, we see that of a life well lived and he passed away quietly, on the night of Thursday, September 4, 2025. God speed.