James George Panor, Sr. - Obituary

ames Panor, 87, passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 14, 2017 at the Rebecca Fortney Inpatient Care Center surrounded by his family and friends. Born on February 10, 1929, in NW Washington, D.C. to the late George and Zena Panor, Jim graduated from the old Central High School in 1947 where he did general studies and was active in football, baseball, and track. In 2010 he was inducted into the Washington, D.C. Jock's Hall of Fame for accomplishments in athletics. During the summers of high school, Jim played American Legion baseball which resulted in an invitation for a tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He entered Wilson Teachers College and was drafted into the U.S. Army. Following his completion of basic training, Jim was assigned to 7th Corps headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. While in the service, he coached a battalion football team in Augsburg, Germany. Upon completion of military service, he rejoined Wilson Teachers College studying biology and social studies. Jim's first appointment as a teacher was at Hart Junior High School in Washington, D.C. in the mid-1950s. During that time, he was also backfield football coach at Georgetown Prep in Rockville, MD. In 1960, he received a job at the brand new Duval High School in Lanham, MD teaching World History and American History. In 1969, Jim received his Masters degree in World Geography from Frostburg State College. He also coached the backfield for the football team under the direction of Carl Butkus. During the early sixties, Jim was asked to join the superintendent staff of Prince George's County Public Schools as population analyst to develop written descriptive boundaries for all public schools in the county. He was also assigned to represent the public schools of Prince George's County at land zoning and county commissioner and county council zoning hearings to determine pupil yield from housing requests as it would impact existing public schools. Jim was part of the building committee that decided when and where to build schools at a time when P.G. county had grown from approximately 140,000 students to 180,000 students. During his tenure at the board of education, he represented the superintendent at the MNCPPC assisting in the development of area master plans for the entire county regarding school needs for proposed development. Jim retired in 1990 after 30 years of service. He was an avid golfer who introduced many beginners to the sport. He was also quite active in the Clinton American Legion where he was elected Chaplain for 27 years. Jim took great pride in keeping American Legion baseball alive in southern Maryland. He was a member of the VFW and the Annapolis Fleet Reserve Club for many years. He was active politically, running for the house of delegates on several occasions and in 1974, as a Republican, barely missed winning his seat to the House of Delegates after 4:1 odds against him. Jim was a lifelong member of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Washington D.C. and Ss. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Annapolis, MD. He was preceded in death by his devoted wife of 35 years, Patricia Kowalowski Panor on January 11, 1999; and two sisters, Helen and Sophie. Jim is survived by two sons, James and George Panor; a sister, Anne Panor of McLean, VA; and loving grandchildren: Nick, John, Greg and Catherine. Friends may call at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater, MD on Wednesday, January 18 from 6 to 9p.m. A funeral service will be held at Ss. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 2747 Riva Rd, Annapolis, MD on Thursday, January 19 at 10 a.m. Interment Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Clinton American Legion Post 259 Baseball Team, P.O. Box 44, Clinton, MD 20735