Jack G. MAKARI

MAKARI, Jack G.

Jack G. Makari, 95, of Suffield, formerly of New Jersey; beloved husband for over 58 years to Odette (Tamer) Makari, passed away surrounded by his loving family on May 4, 2013. The son of the late Philomena Nehme and George Jacob Makari, Jack George Makari was born in Enfeh, Lebanon on December 23, 1917. A precocious student and child orator, he began college at American University of Beirut at the age of 15. He received his B.A in 1937, by which time the sudden death of his father and his reading of The Microbe Hunters, set him on his life's path. He received his M.D. in 1941 from the A.U.B, and stayed on as a medical resident and a junior faculty member in the Department of Bacteriology. In 1945 as World War II concluded, he was awarded a highly coveted British Council Scholar's fellowship for study in London. He attended the London School of Tropical Medicine and received a D.T.M. and H. from the Royal College of Physicians. From 1947 to 1950, he was Senior Physician to the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, during which time he also became one of Lebanon's official representatives at the World Health Organization of the United Nations. He promoted public health as critical to diminishing misery and violence in developing countries. Thanks to a World Health Organization Fellowship, he attended Harvard University's School of Public Health which awarded him a Masters of Science in microbiology in 1952. For two years, he conducted research at the Johns Hopkins University Medical School, before being appointed Director of Immunology at Houston's M.D Anderson Hospital in 1954. This was a symbolic return for him, since his own father had immigrated to Texas as a small boy, before returning to Lebanon in 1911. In 1957, Dr. Makari became Director of Research at Muhlenberg Hospital before establishing Makari Research Laboratories in Englewood, NJ, which he directed from 1965 until his retirement. The author of over 55 scientific articles, the holder of four patents, and the recipient of numerous scientific honors, Dr. Makari was known for his pioneering work in immunology and cancer. In 1955, he was the first to describe cancer specific antigens, work that was confirmed in thirteen separate studies. In 1958, he was the first to claim that a specific polysaccharide antigen was critical in cancer. At the time, medical orthodoxy held that polysaccharides could not be antigens; decades later, researchers recognized this shibboleth to be untrue. In 1969, Makari unveiled his novel diagnostic test for cancer known in the literature as the Makari Intradermal Test (MIT). The test was subjected to extensive trials including double-blind protocols in Japan, France, the U.K and the U.S. The New York Academy of Sciences devoted three sessions to the MIT. The test's safety and validity were confirmed in over 30 publications. It was approved for licensure in the United Kingdom in 1982. During his career, he was a member of numerous organizations including the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Royal Society of Medicine in London. Jack Makari was married to his hometown sweetheart Odette Tamer, on August 17, 1955 at Saint Catherine's Church in Enfeh, and he then returned to establish roots in the United States, his adopted country which he loved for the generosity and openness of its people. He is survived by his beloved wife of Suffield, Connecticut, his three children, Dr. Grace Makari-Judson, Dr. Doris Makari-Anders, and Dr. George Makari; and his nine grandchildren. Warm hearted, patient, remarkably curious and funny, a lover of poetry, he was a wise optimist who considered his life a mission to eradicate disease, and was guided by these words from St. Luke: "And heal the sick that are therein, and tell them the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you."
Calling hours will be held Tuesday, May 7, from 6-8 p.m. at Heritage Funeral Home, 1240 Mountain Road, West Suffield, CT. The funeral service to celebrate his life will be conducted on Wednesday, May 8 at 11 a.m. at the First Church of Christ Congregational, 81 High Street, Suffield, CT. For online condolences please visit: www.SuffieldFuneralHome.com.