2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 252
Celebrating the life of Demetrios A. Julius, M.D.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 9, 2026
Agreed to by the Senate, March 11, 2026
WHEREAS, Demetrios A. Julius, M.D., a distinguished health care professional who served and supported military veterans as a longtime employee of the Richmond Veterans Administration Medical Center, died on July 5, 2025; and
WHEREAS, Demetrios Julius was born in Greece and relocated to the United States with his family at a young age; he grew up in Ohio and graduated from Western Reserve Academy, then earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard College and a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati; and
WHEREAS, in the late 1970s, Demetrios Julius and his wife, Janice, spent 19 months in Iran, where they opened a groundbreaking overseas mental health clinic for Americans; they witnessed the events of the Iranian Revolution firsthand and were on the last commercial flight out of Tehran before Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini came to power; and
WHEREAS, after returning to the United States, Demetrios Julius worked at the National Institutes of Health, specifically the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and led a team that developed naltrexone, which is used to treat alcohol and opioid use disorders; and
WHEREAS, in 1979, Demetrios Julius relocated to Richmond and joined the Richmond Veterans Administration Medical Center, where he served as chief of psychiatry and established a sleep disorders program; and