Affectionately known as “Doc,” Nicholas Lykos, BSP ’59, ran the Lykos Pharmacy on York Road in Timonium from 1960 until 2001, when he died of heart failure at age 70.
Today, his pharmacy is still frequented by loyal customers; many are second- and third-generation clients. And the pharmacy’s faithful, longtime staff works hard to sustain the high standards Lykos always set.
“Pharmacy was his passion,” says his wife, Dorothy Lykos, who, for the last 43 years, has come to the pharmacy every day it has been open.
“No matter how tired he was, or even in his later years when he was sick, Nick loved his work and never once complained,” she says. In fact, on his way home from the hospital after surviving heart bypass surgery, Lykos insisted on walking into his beloved pharmacy “to see how things were going.”
“Doc always emphasized the highest ethics of pharmacy practice, the importance of direct contact with clients, and he offered top-of-the-line products and services,” says the pharmacy’s manager Charles “Chuck” Muendlein, BSP ’85. Muendlein began working with Lykos as a first-year student in 1983 and has stayed on ever since.
He isn’t the only alumnus to set foot there. Whenever possible, Lykos Pharmacy employs University of Maryland School of Pharmacy students.
The Lykos family recently established the Nicholas C. Lykos Scholarship in Community Pharmacy, demonstrating its pride in the School of Pharmacy. The scholarship, given to promote independent pharmacy, is supported by Lykos’ wife and their children, Cosmas and Angela. (All endowed scholarships represent a minimum $25,000 gift.)
“Graduate-level scholarships are hard to find and are always appreciated by students,” says Jill Morgan, PharmD, associate dean for student affairs. “They allow students to spend more time on learning, participating in student organizational activities, and advancing the profession of pharmacy.”
“Nick was deeply grateful to the University for the training and opportunities he received,” says Dorothy Lykos. “He always tried to help pharmacy students and wanted to give back to the School.”
Nicholas Lykos, who was involved in the School of Pharmacy’s Alumni Association, was instrumental in helping to create the all-PharmD program. From 1992 to 1993, he joined weekly meetings of a small group of faculty members whose task was to design the program.
“The only practicing pharmacist on the committee, Nick served as our link to the real world and strongly supported the forward-looking vision of a larger role for pharmacists in health care,” recalls former Dean David A. Knapp, PhD. “His contributions helped craft a program that propelled the School into the top 10 nationally.”
Besides his professional commitments, Lykos was devoted to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation. He received the highest honor given to a layman, Archon to the Patriarch, and played an integral role in the cathedral’s humanitarian aid, adding pharmaceutical products to disaster relief packages.