Ask George about his family and he’ll tell you all about them—including the family he’s made at 10 Wilmington Place.

He’ll show you the picture of his grandparents on the windowsill that was taken in 1927, the year he was born. They bought the second peanut machine sold that year and started their own business in Dayton selling the peanuts they made. In addition to running the business, they were parents to 12 children—three who went on to become doctors, and two who became pharmacists, George shared proudly.

Another important person in George’s life was Ethel—or, as he called her, his “dear wife.” They met in the choir at Roosevelt High School and later married in 1949. “She had the prettiest voice of anybody I’ve ever heard,” he recalled.

George was in the military for two years, and later worked in several positions at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base while attending night classes at the University of Dayton for business administration.

Meanwhile, Ethel attended UD and participated in the choir, basketball, and rifle teams, and later taught in the Dayton school system for over 30 years.

“That was my girl, boy oh boy,” George said of his late wife, who passed in January 2018. “My second-best girl. My number one girl was my oldest daughter, Kimmy. I always told everybody that was my number one girl.” George was very close with Kimmy, who experienced mental and physical complications during her life. “Every place I went, I took her as I much as I could,” he continued. Unfortunately, Kimmy passed at just 50 years old.

He also has two other children, Shelley and George Jr., who he speaks highly of for their accomplishments. Shelley graduated from Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, and currently works as the principal of Prudential Financial. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and brings her children, Marcus and Elizabeth, to visit their grandfather often. George Jr. earned a Ph.D. from Columbia and lives in Dayton, frequently helping George with errands or other needs.

“I’m proud of them all,” George said, grinning at the family photos around his apartment. “Some good accomplishments have been made. Me and my dear wife, we both only have one pennant, but the kids all earned more and came up to be some special people, too. I love looking at all the pennants we’ve earned on the wall. All of these came out of a family that couldn’t even read or write.”

The family’s pennants are currently hanging in George’s house in Jefferson Township, which he has been preparing to sell since he moved to 10 Wilmington Place in early 2018. While his house is home to many special memories, George is also enjoying the family atmosphere he has found here. He loves living down the hall from the movie theater and looks forward to grabbing some fresh popcorn every evening. He has also attended group outings, including one to a Dayton Dragons baseball game. 

“The people are very, very friendly, and it just seemed like, all at once, I was with people I knew. I didn't know any of them, but it’s like I knew them all,” George said. “I think they just melted into me or I just melted into them!”