Robert "Bob" George

Our beloved father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend, Robert Lynn George, age 80, passed away on October 4, 2020 in Littleton, Colorado.  His wife, sons and daughters spent time with him shortly before he shifted this mortal coil.  He met Barbara Sheffield at Weber State College while teaching her Geology Lab section.  They were married on September 10, 1964 in the Salt Lake City Temple and sealed for time and all eternity.  “Bob”, always “Robert” to his mother, a committed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, served in many positions in the wards and stakes, served two missions (Chicago, IL and Denver, CO).  Normally quite reserved, he blossomed as a dedicated temple worker in the Denver temple, scheduling and supervising the Friday morning shift for many years.

Bob was born the second of four sons to Thomas and Birdie George in Ogden, Utah on June 2, 1940.  Bob grew up in a number of locations in Idaho and Utah, consistently working with his family, in the lumber and heavy equipment business.  When the family won a government contract for erosion control, Bob and his brother Dallas drove bulldozers to terrace the slopes of several of the peaks above Utah Valley where other operators dared not go– these terraces can be seen to this day.   He graduated from Weber High School in Ogden, Utah (1958), going on to earn his bachelor (1965) and doctoral (1971) degrees in Hydraulic Civil Engineering, from Utah State University.  His civil service career started with the US Forest Service including fighting wildfires and surveying in Idaho, Nevada and Utah.  Even though a junior employee, over a year and a half he planned and executed a surveying project to a particularly rugged part of the Uintah Mountains to correct the topographical mapping data.  To complete the White Rock project, he supervised a crew of ten and used Jeeps, horses and a helicopter, learning enough to be the emergency helicopter pilot if needed.  After graduating, he worked for US Steel in Orem, Utah as a metallurgical engineer.  He then moved to a job in the US Naval Lab at Port Hueneme, California, eventually transferring to the Water Lab at the Federal Center in Lakewood, Colorado.  He went on to become a world recognized expert in water quality, influencing the decisions of projects across the United States, as well as in Jordan & Spain.  He retired from the Bureau of Reclamation in 2003 after 40 years of devoted public service, continuing as a consultant for almost another year.

Bob loved to work on computers: bringing home teletype consoles connected by phone to remote mainframes; being an early Macintosh evangelist; building and repairing his own PCs; maintaining computers for the church; even correcting code and sending it back to the manufacturer.  He was a dedicated scouter, serving as a scout dad, scoutmaster and one of the key staff members for Blazer B Daycamp , serving thousands of young men over many years.

He also loved succulents, taking pictures of the blossoming cactus and desert landscapes, even keeping cactuses on the kitchen window sill.

He felt great pride in working on old cars and did his own auto maintenance, as well as regularly helping his friends.  For many years, everyone who knew Bob was familiar with the 1960 Mercedes Benz 190D diesel sedan which he had resurrected, kept running and used as his daily driver in sun, rain and snow.

He was a constant servant to others, always willing to help pack and move, fix computers or fix cars, work at church service projects, and yard work.  Family was tremendously important, which is good, because he had a lot of it.  Annual visits to family in Utah every year, family reunions and lots of time together on road trips, playing countless hours of “I-Spy” were great.   Going over the mountain passes - through Eisenhower Tunnel - in the old VW Bus made us wonder if it would help to get out and push, which were then followed by many waits in Glenwood Canyon as I-70 construction seemed to never end.  These trips with Dad have become loved memories ever be remembered.

He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, mother and two brothers (Dallas & Lyle).

He is survived by his eternal wife, Barbara and nine children: LaMont (Jean), Merrill (Beth), Spencer (Tami), Jennifer (Jeffrey), Jacob (Sarah), Rebecca (Kevin), Nathan (Tracy), Michael (Cassandra) and Jonathan (Rachel), 25 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren and his brother Alan T. George.

Considering the current health crisis, private services will be held Monday, October 12, 2020 at 11 am in at the Horan & McConaty Chapel in Lakewood, Colorado.  However, funeral services will also be broadcast via livestream for all to join in celebrating Bob’s life. This is the link to view the services on Monday at 11:00am: https://zoom.us/j/3657434720 Interment will be in the Golden City Cemetery.

Condolences and Memories may be shared by signing the Tribute Wall.