MY BROTHER GEORGE

Today, would have been my brother George's 82 Birthday, if he were still with us, so I thought I would tell a bit about him.

George was born April 17, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois.  My parents moved to California during the war and then to Palmyra, NY.  George graduated from High School in Palmyra and worked his way through Paul Smith College in Upstate New York.  During High School and college, he played football.

After college he worked for Commercial Credit Corporation.  He was drafted in the U.S. Army during the Korean War Conflict.  At first, he was stationed in Oklahoma.  I was little then, I can remember my parents and I driving out to see him one summer.  Next year he got transfered to Arizona and we went out again.

He married my sister-in-law, Jean after his basic training.  While they were in Arizona, they had my first niece Patricia.

After service, he came back to Palmyra where he opened an Insurance Agency, which he ran for several years.  My Dad was in the Real Estate Business and George was in the Insurance Business.  While in Palmyra George and Jean had my nephew Michael and my niece, Linda.

The family liked to go camping, fishing, and boating.  My brother also liked bowling.  They started out camping in a tent and they hauled a boat behind them.  Eventually, gone went the tent and little boat - they bought a thirty some foot cruiser on which they spent their weekends.  Being in New York  you can't use a boat in the winter - so in 1968, they decided to move to Florida.

There my brother got a sales job during the day and started an accounting tax business at home in the evening.  Eventually, his business grew that the accounting and tax business became his full time job.  Over the years, it kept growing until it is a well know business in St. Petersburg. Eventually, he sold it when he retired.

In the late 1970's he and his wife divorced, but remained good friends.  It was almost 30 years before he married again.

Oh, he had a cruiser, which was his hobby.  He and my nephew would go fishing or scuba diving.  I still remember the many rides we had out in that boat.  The boat name was: Edelweiss.

My parents, brother Bob and family and I had moved to Florida.  My Mother was in a nursing home and passed on George's 60th birthday.  George was on a cruise and somehow my nephew Michael, got a hold of the ship and George flew back.  I asked him if it bothered him.  He said Mom had been sick so long and it was her time to go. He would miss her, but she was a peace now and not suffering anymore.

After his retirement, he spent a great deal of time on cruises, trips or on his boat.  He loved to travel and had the means to do it.  Also, spent lots of time with his children and grandchildren.  He met his second wife, Sherri.

  When I started school, he was in college.  We loved each other.  When my Dad passed, I moved back up north.  We had our family disagreements.  Like I said once before a while back, we were the like the Ewing's on Dallas.  We could disagree among ourselves, but when someone outside our family said or did something against one of us - we were united.

George passed away four months before I found out.  I had a post about that, at the time.  My brother, Bob, had passed away years before and George was all I had left.  Now he is gone.  I miss my brothers and my parents.

Happy Birthday, George,
Marilyn