Obituary

RUSSELL WAYNE GEORGE
(April 11, 1926 - March 14, 2011)

Russell Wayne George, 84, passed away on March 14, 2011 in the presence of his family at St. Mary’s Hospital in Huntington, WV after a two month illness. He was born on April 11, 1926 in Louisville, Kentucky as his father, the late Russell E. George, was completing a twenty-eight year career in the U.S. Army.  His mother was the late Annabelle Stephenson George of East Bank, WV.   Wayne attended public schools in both Huntington and East Bank, WV and graduated in 1944 from Huntington High School (HHS).  He was President of his 1944 HHS class.  He was also a varsity member of the HHS Basketball Team which won the 1944 West Virginia Triple-A State Championship. Following in his father’s tradition of military service, Wayne volunteered for the Army upon graduation from High School.  In March 1945, he embarked to LeHarve, France as a Private First Class and was assigned to the Intelligence & Reconnaissance Unit of the 422nd Infantry Regiment.  The 422nd was then engaging the German forces defending the Nazi submarine bases at St. Nazaire, France.  Wayne participated in reconnaissance missions and saw combat at St. Nazaire until the end of the War.   After VE day, Wayne participated in the occupation of Germany and was promoted to Staff Sergeant.  After the War, Wayne continued to serve in the Army Reserve and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant.  During this period, he also attended Iowa State University and received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering in 1949.  In 1950, a few months before the Korean War, he transferred from the Army Reserve to the U.S. Air Force’s Corps of Cadets and received flight training as an Aviation Cadet at Goodfellow Air Force Base (Texas).  He was honorably discharged from the Air Force on July 13, 1951.  Wayne married Jean Ann Iseley, of Huntington, WV and Cumberland, MD, on December 30, 1951.  They lived in Cincinnati, Ohio where Wayne worked as an engineer for General Electric Company while also attending graduate school at Xavier University.  He received a Masters of Business Administration from Xavier in 1955 with a concentration in management and accounting. While in Cincinnati, Wayne and Jean had two sons, Larry in 1954, and Doug in 1957.  The family returned to Huntington in 1958 when Wayne accepted a position as an industrial engineer at the Huntington Alloys plant of the International Nickel Company (INCO).  Wayne spent the rest of his career at INCO and was eventually promoted to Chief Industrial Engineer in the period when the Huntington plant was the largest nickel manufacturing facility in the world.  He retired in 1987 with twenty-nine years service. Wayne was a member of the Pea Ridge United Methodist Church for over fifty years.  He served on the Church’s governing board for many years and he chaired the Church’s Building Committee which managed the construction of the Church’s new Educational Building and Sanctuary in the 1970's.  Wayne also served as an adult leader and summer camp instructor for the Church’s Boy Scout Troop 62.  He was a member of the American Society of Industrial Engineers and a Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.  Wayne is survived by his wife, Jean Iseley George, his two sons, Larry W. George of Charleston, WV, and Douglas E. George of Savannah, GA, nephew, Dr. David Crandall of Xenia, Ohio, and niece, Jan Crandall of Cincinnati, Ohio.  Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 19th, at the Pea Ridge United Methodist Church, Huntington, with Rev. Judy Fisher officiating. Burial will follow by internment at Spring Hill Cemetery, Huntington.  Friends may call one hour prior to the service at the church.  Henson Mortuary, Barboursville, is in charge of arrangements.