Dr. Peter Bela Halmos

Dr. Peter Bela Halmos passed away peacefully at 9pm on December 1st, 2022, at UPMC Western Maryland. Son of the late George and Agnes Halmos, he was born on January 14, 1936, in Budapest, Hungary. He survived World War II and the holocaust in Hungary and escaped in 1956. After a short stay in a refugee camp, Peter traveled to Vienna, London, Edinburgh and finally to Belfast, Northern Ireland where he received a full scholarship to Queens University. He completed his medical and cardiology specialty training with honors in 1965.
In 1966, he traveled to the United States with his wife, Iris and two small children to work and teach at West Virginia University Hospital in Morgantown, WV and in 1968, accepted an invitation to initiate a cardiology program at Memorial Hospital in Cumberland, Maryland. While there he pioneered the development of a cardiac intensive care unit, a high-level care unit, a stress-testing lab, an echocardiogram lab, and a monitored exercise program. These were followed by a cardiac catheterization unit and cardiac surgery. He also established The Children's Diagnostic Center to triage cardiac problems for the area's youth and was Medical Director for over 40 years at the Cumberland Nursing Home.
Dr. Halmos was an exemplary community advocate. Over the years in the area, he served as chairman of the Department of Medicine and was President of both the Memorial Hospital and Allegany County Medical Societies as well as volunteering his time for Allegany Health Right and the Allegany County Health Department. His was president of the YMCA, the Allegany Arts Council, the Cumberland Theatre, the Community Trust Foundation, the Cumberland Bridge Club, and the local chapter of the American Heart Association. He also fulfilled the position of treasurer for the Allegany College Foundation, the C. William Gilchrist Museum of the Arts, and the WMHS Foundation as well as serving as a board member for many non-profit organizations including the Maryland State Arts Council. In addition to committing his time and expertise to a wide variety of causes, Dr. Halmos was a committed financial supporter of arts and education. Particularly close to his heart was the establishment of The Community Trust Foundation's Peter and Iris Halmos Community Fund which continues its mission of helping Allegany County and its residents to flourish and prosper.
Peter was an avid art collector, an ardent and successful tennis and pickleball player, loved classical music, especially opera, and was never without at least one good book to read. An exceptional bridge player, who represented Ireland in international competition, he taught bridge at the YMCA, the Cumberland Country Club and Allegany College with the aim of introducing new players to the game he loved and the hope of finding a good fourth.
Preceding Peter in death was his beloved late wife, Iris, whom he met at 2am on a summer morning while she was starting an IV on a mutual patient. They were devoted to each other and were married for 58 years. Surviving Dr. Halmos are his daughters Nicole and Siobhan and daughter-in-law Beth McLean, his stepbrother and wife, Tom and Sue Biro, many relatives throughout Europe and his grand-dogs, Pippa and Jessie.
A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 am on January 9th, 2023, St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Cumberland, Maryland 21502. In lieu of flowers or other memorial plantings, the family requests contributions be directed to the Peter and Iris Halmos Community Fund, 112 Baltimore Street, Suite 201, Cumberland, Maryland 21502 or the Nicole Halmos Scholarship, Allegany College Foundation, Inc., 12401 Willowbrook Road, Cumberland, Maryland 21502.
Condolences may be left at www.ScarpelliFH.com