Longtime area pediatrician and father of former Senator Joe Kyrillos, Dr. Joseph M. Kyrillos, of Red Bank, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Dec. 3 at The Atrium at Navesink Harbor. He was 89.

From Dr. Kyrillos’ obituary … 

Known as a man who was devoted to his family, friends and patients, Dr. Kyrillos was a global traveler in his lifetime. He was an avid gardener, a skilled bridge player and most recently, an accomplished painter.

Born in Byblos, Lebanon on Dec. 11, 1929, he graduated from College de la Sagesse in Beirut. Dr. Kyrillos then went on to obtain his medical degree at Saint Joseph’s University, French Faculty of Medicine, and came to the United States to complete his residency in pediatrics at St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark.

Dr. Kyrillos was married to Marguerite Kyrillos (nee Shlala) for more than 60 years.

A practicing pediatrician in Middletown for more than 50 years —first in private practice and later with the Medical Health Center of Middletown — he saw his last patients at age 85.

He is survived by: his wife, Margo; his children, former Senator Joseph Jr. and Susan Kyrillos, of Middletown, and their children Max and Georgia, Jean-Claude and Barbara Kyrillos, of La Jolla, CA, and their children Alexandra, Christina, Carl and Ben, Dr. Janine Kyrillos of Narberth, PA and her son Eddie, and Jean-Paul and Dannielle Kyrillos of New York City and their children Caspian and Calliope; and his brothers, Jean Kyrillos and Antoine Kyrillos and their families, of Beirut, Lebanon.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, at Thompson Memorial Home at 310 Broad Street, Red Bank. A funeral service will be held at Tower Hill Church, 255 Harding Road, Red Bank, on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 1 p.m. Dr. Kyrillos’ family in Lebanon will also be celebrating a Catholic Mass in his honor at their church in Beirut.  In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in his honor to the Riverview Medical Center Foundation, Pediatrics Department, 1 Riverview Plaza, Red Bank, NJ 07701.