Obituary of George Mares

George Mareş

b. 1953 - d. 2018

George Mareş, 64, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 25th after a long battle with metastatic cancer. He was surrounded by his family and close friends. He is survived by his two daughters, Isabel Maria Mareş of Brooklyn, NY and Emma Carolyn Mareş of Chicago, IL, his wife, Ellen O'Neill Mareş of Forest Hills, NY, and his brother and sister-in-law, Valentin Mareş and Luminita Mareş of Bucharest, Romania.

Born in 1953 in Bucharest, Romania to Maria and Marin Mareş, George lived nearly half of his life under a then-Communist regime. He graduated from the Liceul Gheorghe Sincai in Bucharest and received a master's degree in computer science from the Academy of Economics and Computer Sciences in Bucharest and a master's degree in mathematics from Bucharest University. He was a lover of philosophy, poetry, adventure, and nature, spending many summers in the hometown of his mother in the Transylvanian countryside. He served in the Romanian army and later worked for the airforce in the computer technology division.

In 1983 he risked his life to come to the United States, spending months in an Austrian refugee camp waiting for political asylum to be granted from the embassy. Upon arriving in New York City, his life began anew. His career in software engineering and information technology spanned three decades, developing software for IBM, HSBC, Credit Suisse, ICAP Global, among many others. In 2013 he founded Quadrant Eight Strategies, LLC with his business partner and fellow Romanian, George Moraru. He remained dedicated to building algorithmic trading systems well into 2017, despite his illness.

George spent over thirty years with his wife, Ellen, who shared the same passions for literature, film, and travel. She cared for him until his passing with the help of their daughters. Isabel and Emma, his two greatest achievements, are forever shaped by his bravery, intelligence, humor, and free spirit.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, June 3rd - what would have been George’s 65th birthday. The service will be held from 10:00 am to noon at Fox Funeral Home, Inc., 98-07 Ascan Avenue, Forest Hills, NY.