Dr. George K. Shortess, 93, died at home Dec. 3, 2025, attended by his family. He was born in Baltimore, Md., the son of the late Dr. George S. and Mary K. Shortess. He and his wife, MaryLou Miller were married for 71 years.

He graduated from South Williamsport High School and Lycoming College. In 1955, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged from the Medical Corps in 1958. He enrolled at Brown University where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in experimental psychology, concentrating on the neural basis of visual perception. He was awarded a NIH fellowship to work in the neurophysiology lab of Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.

While in the Army, he developed a strong interest in the visual arts. Later, he enrolled as a nondegree student at the Boston Museum School concentrating on drawing and painting.

From 1963-1969 he taught experimental psychology and chaired the psychology department at Lycoming College. From 1969-1994 he taught at Lehigh University, where he retired as Professor Emeritus.

He was a Fellow of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics.

In the early 1970s when he merged his two professional interests he created “Neural Art.” His work was shown in over 125 exhibits locally, nationally and internationally. His work is part of a number of museum collections, including two artist’s books in the Franklin Furnace archive, which was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

He was a lifelong Phillies fan who loved puzzles, Greek coffee, frogs and traditional Chinese landscape paintings.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by children, Thomas and his wife, Teresa, Laurie Barnes and her husband, James, Gregory Shores; four grandchildren; brother, David and his wife, Sharon; extended family members.

The family suggests a contribution to the Galapagos Conservancy, 1630 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20009 (galapagos.org).

Arrangements were handled by the Cantelmi Long Funeral Home, Bethlehem.