Obituary of Tony George

Tony Joseph George, Sr. passed away December 6, 2013 at the age of 98. He was born September 11, 1915 in San Luis Obispo, California. His parents, Manual Pereira George and Louisa Vargas George, both of Portuguese descent, immigrated to the United States from the Azores Islands in the early 1900’s. Tony was the eighth of nine children and the last surviving child of his parents. He was used to hard work at an early age. His father died when he was six, leaving his mother to raise nine children on her own. The family worked in Santa Clara orchards picking fruit to make an income each year, with all children pitching in when they weren’t in school. Tony went to school through eighth grade before he had to go out in the world and begin working full time. On August 11, 1940, he married Marian Helen Cardoza, in Riverdale, California. The two were married for 73 years. As a young adult, Tony worked in construction and driving trucks. His construction experience proved very useful when WWII broke out. He joined the SeaBees, the Navy Construction Battalion. He served overseas building airstrips and roads, most notably on the island of Okinawa. When he came home from war, his first daughter, Arleen (Bladl), was already 4. His second child, a boy, Anthony (Tony) Jr was born shortly thereafter, soon to be followed by daughter Marilyn (Wong) and son Leonard. Following his return from war, Tony had his own trucking business in Campbell, California, hauling construction materials in dump trucks. Tony’s fleet included 6-wheeler dump trucks which were standard for the time. In the mid-50s the 10-wheeler truck was introduced leading Tony to sell the business rather than replacing his fleet. Tony then parlayed his skills learned in the SeaBees to work in road construction and heavy equipment operation. In 1960, he pursued a dream of owning property in Oregon. He bought a farm in the country close to ‘Burp Hollow’ which is near Blachly, Oregon. He worked construction seasonally in Oregon for a while, but soon got a year-round job at Jones Veneer (later Georgia-Pacific), where he worked in the print plant until he retired in 1980 The farm consisted of 53 acres of property where he and Marian raised cattle, Hereford beef, and timber. He bought a John Deere 40 crawler with small dozer and proceeded to clear stumps, build dams, and create irrigated pasture for livestock – all the time puffing and chewing on his trademark cigars. In 1966, a devastating fire destroyed the family home and all possessions. With support of neighbors and friends, he built a temporary home. With the help of his son, Leonard, he then created a beautiful A-frame home that still stands today along Hall Road in Cheshire. Tony was a master at construction – in his lifetime building many home additions, with fireplaces his specialty. His trademark was to leave the butt of at least one cigar mortared into every fireplace he built. Upon retirement, Tony gave up smoking cigars, and purchased a modular home in Lakewood Park in Eugene, Oregon, where he and Marian made many friends. They owned an Airstream trailer and traveled the U.S. and Canada with the fellow Airstreamers and the Good Sam Club, visiting all 48 continental states on two different year-long trips. Tony hated confined spaces. His first and only time on an airplane was to fly to San Diego, California to take a cruise to see the 1991 total solar eclipse near Mazatlán, Mexico, which was the longest eclipse of the 20th century. Tony was an avid golfer, golfing weekly through the summers of his retired years until a shoulder injury sidelined him. His favorite golfer was Freddie Couples. Tony made three holes-in-one, and could tell detailed stories about each one. He was an avid baseball and Mariners fan, something he shared with his daughter Marilyn. Tony is survived by his wife, Marian, of 73 years, and by four children--Arleen Bladl of Eugene, Oregon; Anthony George Jr. and wife Connie of Umatilla, Oregon; Marilyn Wong and husband Rick of Sammamish, Washington; and Leonard George and wife Susie of Elmira, Oregon; and eight grandchildren--Christopher George, Jennifer Strampher, Charles Radosta, Jimmy Radosta, Jason George, Jessica George, Robert Wong, and Jacqui Wong; and (almost) five great grandchildren—Anthony Jacob (AJ) George, Justin George, Brett Strampher, Emma Radosta, and soon to be adopted, Miles Radosta. Tony was a member of the St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Junction City and later, St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Eugene, as well as the Springfield Elks. A Celebration of Tony’s life will be held in the Spring of 2014 when grandchildren, friends and family can gather with Marian to tell stories about Tony. Arrangements entrusted to Musgrove Family Mortuary. Please access the obituary and you are invited to sign the guestbook at musgroves.com