Clarence T. George
Vertin-Munson Funeral Home 1-701-642-4000
Clarence T. George, 82,
Fargo
,
ND
, formerly Wahpeton, ND, died Saturday, March 28, 2009 at a
Jamestown
ND
hospital. The Funeral Service will be 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at
Evergreen
United
Methodist
Church
, Wahpeton, with Rev. Paul Baker officiating. Visitation will be Tuesday, from 5 to 8 PM at Vertin-Munson Funeral Home, Wahpeton, and one hour before the service at the church on Wednesday.
Interment will be at
Fairview
Memorial
Gardens
, Wahpeton.
Clarence Theodore George was born January 9, 1927, at home in
Danzig
,
ND
, to
Lydia
(Zimmerman) and John A. George.
His sister Sylvia arrived 18 months later.
In 1940 the family moved to
Ashley
,
ND
, where he attended school and played basketball.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army immediately following high school, served state-side, and was discharged as a sergeant two years later.
Just 19 when he completed military service, he enrolled at the
North Dakota
Agricultural
College
(now NDSU), but a hunting accident postponed his college career.
Clarence spent 13 months in St. Mary’s Hospital,
Rochester
,
MN
, and at the VA Hospital in
Fargo
recovering.
He returned to college in 1947, where he was a member of Kappa Psi and became a pharmacist, graduating in 1951.
In January 1949, mutual friends arranged a date with (Margaret) Peggy Buechler, a nursing student at St. Alexius in
Bismarck
,
ND
.
The couple was married in June 1951 and moved to Wahpeton, where Clarence worked at Miller Drug Store, and Peggy worked at
St.
Francis
Hospital
as a registered nurse.
In 1956 Clarence bought Fairmount Drug and moved his young family, daughter Connie and son Steve, to
Fairmount
,
ND
. During the time in Fairmount, sons Mike and John were born, and Clarence was active in civic affairs and the
Methodist
Church
.
He also served on the Fairmount School Board.
The family returned to Wahpeton in 1965, where Clarence owned and operated George Pharmacy in the Red River Valley Clinic until 1981 and then purchased Wahpeton Drug where he worked until retirement in 1992.
Again, Clarence became active in the community as a member of the American Legion Post 20, Rotary, and Elks Club #2147 where he served as Exalted Ruler for two terms (1977-1979).
He was also active in the
Methodist
Church
, where he sang in the choir and served on many committees, and in the
United Way
.
He was also a member of the Alphean Male Chorus and of the local Lions Club.
Clarence was active in both the district and state Pharmaceutical Association, serving as state president in 1978-1979.
In 2007, Clarence and Peg sold their lake home and moved to The Waterford in
Fargo
to be close to their children.
Clarence enjoyed sharing his love of gardening and fishing with his family, including three grandchildren, and instilled in all of them a great love of
Minnesota
lake life.
He was an avid rose grower and, like Johnnie Appleseed, planted roses wherever he went, including the Chahinkapa Zoo, the Wahpeton Methodist Church, around his Ottertail Lake home, and finally at The Waterford.
Clarence continued to hunt after his accident, but fishing with his buddies was his favorite past-time.
Clarence George is survived by his wife, Peg; Connie (Roger) Nelson and children Jack and Sarah Gregory; Steve (Jan) and Patrick George, all of
Fargo
;
Mike
,
Victoria
, MN; and John of Houston, TX.
Clarence was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Sylvia.
Four nieces and a nephew also survive, along with his Aunt Kay Haigh of
Breckenridge
,
MN
.
