December 22, 1945 – April 24, 2024. Vincent Lawrence George, 78, passed away peacefully in Chicago after a long and courageous fight with lung cancer.
Vince was born in December 1945 in Batavia, NY to the late Lawrence B. and Mary Arlene George of Elba, NY. From a young age, Vince worked alongside his parents and family members at George’s Dairy, founded by Vince’s grandparents Sylvester and Mary Petz George almost 100 years ago. To this day, Genesee County residents remember George’s Dairy for its quality milk and ice cream delivered with pride by the George family. Vince discovered many of his truest passions at an early age, such as baseball, trains, westerns, eating, and teasing the people he loved, all of which he pursued vigorously the rest of his life.
Graduating salutatorian at Elba Central School in 1963, he attended St. Bonaventure University, class of 1967, majoring in accounting. In 1967, Vince was a member of the first MBA class at the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1973. After working at Price Waterhouse in Philadelphia from 1973-78, Vince moved to Dallas to work as Tax Director for the Trammell
Crow Company, a leading commercial real estate developer. He remained at Trammell Crow the next twenty years, working various leadership positions in venture capital and finance. For the final phase of his career, Vince worked at Centex and Panattoni Development Company in Dallas.
His favorite activities with his wife, Cynthia and children, Erika and Matthew, included traveling, watching movies, relaxing at Cedar Creek Lake and planning their next meal. He was a constant presence as a school volunteer and active member of Northridge Presbyterian Church.
When not traveling the world (he and Cindy visited over 150 countries together), he loved to visit his five grandchildren in San Antonio and Chicago. In Dallas, he volunteered as an English teacher at Literacy Achieves, as well as a docent at the George W. Bush Presidential Library. A week after visiting his seventh and final continent (Antarctica) with Cindy, Vince was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, fighting the disease for the next fourteen months until he passed away.
Vince was predeceased by his parents, his parents-in-law, James and Shirley Johnston, and Evelyn Johnston, his brother-in-law, Dr. John C. Gessner, his sister-in-law, Susan Johnston, and his niece, Nicole Wingate. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Cynthia Jean Johnston George, daughter Erika (Blake) Romney of San Antonio, TX and son Matthew (Claire) George
of Chicago, IL, beloved grandchildren, Annie, Greyson, Ford and baby Romney (expected in August), and Shirley and Eamon George. Vince is also survived by his sisters, Elizabeth (Joseph) Ivers of Houston, TX and Margaret George of Saint Paul, MN, his brother-in-law Randy (Carolyn) Johnston of Knoxville, TN, seven nieces and nephews, aunt Shirley George
(Thomas) Edbauer of North Tonawanda, NY and numerous cousins.
Vince was one-of-a-kind in his intelligence, generosity, and goodness. We love you, and still hear your laugh.
A memorial service will be held at Northridge Presbyterian Church (6920 Bob O Link Drive, Dallas, Tx, 75214) on Friday, May 3rd, at 10am CDT. For those unable to travel, the service will be livestreamed here. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Northridge Presbyterian Church’s “Memorials and Honoraria” page, typing Vince’s name under “Please Specify.” The link can be found here.
