Gary Thomas Verazin MD

Category
2022
About This Inductee

Gary grew up in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. He attended John S. Fine High School in Nanticoke and was a member of the varsity basketball team, track & field team, and baseball team. He lettered in all three sports. He was a starting point guard on three straight District II Championship teams – in 1974, 1975, and 1976. The 1974 and 1975 team made it to the Eastern Semi-Finals in Class AAA and the 1976 team made the Final Four, losing to Norristown by one point. Gary scored 1,092 points in basketball in an era when there was no three-pointer, no shot clock, and assists were not kept as a matter of record. In 1976, he was named Wyoming Valley Conference Most Valuable Player and received the Gene Guarilla Award from the Hughestown Sports Club. He was a member of the 1976 PIAA All-State Tournament First Team. He made the Second Team All-League in 1975. Gary graduated number 3 out of 321 students in his class in 1976. Gary then went to Elizabethtown College, majoring in Biology. While playing basketball in college, he received four varsity letters from 1976 through 1980. He scored double figures when starting as a senior and was a member of the 1979 NCAA Division III Tournament Elite 8 that lost to Albright by one point. While at Elizabethtown College he was a recipient of the Replogle Scholarship which is awarded to the top student athlete at Elizabethtown College. He was a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and achieved a Magna Cum Laude in Biology with a 3.8 GPA. He then went to Medical School at Temple University School of Medicine and graduated in 1984. Dr. Verazin finished his residency in 1989 and did receive the John Stahler Resident Award for Excellence in Clinical Surgery as the top surgical resident in the program. While there, he also received the Paul R. Bosanac Research in Publication Award. Dr. Verazin then went to Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 1989 to do a three-year Surgical Oncology Fellowship and while there he did receive the E. Douglas Holyoke Award for being the top fellow in the Surgical Oncology class. He also was a recipient of the American Cancer Society Clinical Oncology Fellowship Award. In 1992, Dr. Verazin went to the Air Force as the Chief of Surgical Oncology at Wright-Pat Airforce Base and finished his tour of duty in 1995. He received the Meritorious Service Award from the United States Airforce. He then decided to return home to serve the people of the Wyoming Valley as a General Surgeon and Surgical Oncologist. He recently celebrated his 40th Wedding Anniversary. He is married to the former Elizabeth Ann Sabecky of Sugar Notch. He is the proud father of three children (Jaime Lynn, Amber Marie, and Gary Thomas II) and one grandchild, Mason Felix.