George Wesley Hartley

George W. Hartley, 97, of Venice, FL., died on April 15,2008. George Hartley was born September 3, 1910 in Scottsburg, IN. He was raised with his older brother Lynn, also a Bay Indies resident until his death in September 2004, just before his 97th birthday. There was one other brother, Burton, who was 16 years younger than George and lived in Cincinnati, OH until his death in January 2006. George was predeceased by his wife Wilma in 1994 after almost 58 years of marriage. He is survived by a son Stephen (Diane) of Rochester, NY and a daughter Elaine (John) Orsini of Niskayuna, NY. He had 5 grandsons, Brent Hartley of Rochester, NY, Paul Cassevoy of Tampa, FL, Michael Orsini of Huntington Beach, CA, and Daniel Orsini of Niskayuna, NY. He also had three great grandsons, Christopher Hartley, Ryan Orsini and Owen Orsini. George graduated from Purdue University in 1932 with a degree in electrical engineering and when he found jobs scarce because of the Depression, he continued one more year and completed another degree in mechanical engineering. As a Purdue graduate with two engineering degrees he got a job picking tomatoes at $9 per week. After working in Louisville, KY for the American Tobacco Company, he found that IBM was hiring customer engineers for training in Endicott, NY. He married Wilma, who was from a neighboring town in Indiana, and they moved to New York. George's career with IBM was interrupted by WW II when he was stationed in Trinidad and Curacao. After the war, he returned to IBM as a customer engineer in Louisville, KY and was soon transferred to the manufacturing plant in Endicott, NY. He worked for IBM a total of 31 years in quality control, first in manufacturing and later as a project manager working with IBM cards and ink. He retired from IBM in 1968 and from the Army in 1952 as a Lt. Colonel. In 1952 George and Wilma bought a small cottage on the St. Lawrence River in Northern New York. He wanted a fishing camp without a lot of maintenance, not even grass to cut. Wilma wanted more of a family retreat. They ended up with a nice family retreat that needed a lot of maintenance. As a boy in Indiana, George had a great desire for good fishing and when he was in his 90;s he said he was very satisfied with the fishing he had experienced at the St. Lawrence River. He was able to enjoy the cottage until he became legally blind from macular degeneration at age 87. In 1973 George and Wilma bought a manufactured home in Bay Indies and began spending winters in Florida. They became very active in the park and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. George served several years on the Coordinating Council (which eventually became the Homeowners Association) becoming president and the representative of Bay Indies in the Venice city council meetings. He was active in bowling, horseshoes, Security Patrol, President of the NY Club and Chairman of the Dance Committee. George and Wilma managed Potluck for 11 or 12 years and George was very active in a contractor evaluation program. In 1995, George was in the first group of 5 persons to receive a medallion in recognition for his volunteer service to Bay Indies. After becoming legally blind in 1997, George was able to continue living in his own home, with the assistance of Connie Lang as his caregiver, up until 12 days before his death. George was a generous man of honesty and integrity who set very high standards of behavior for himself and expected the same from others. He felt his life had been directed by God and we saw the hand of the Lord in his life right up to his death. Memorial donations may be made to Tidewell Hospice & Palliative Care. Arrangements under the direction of National Cremation Society & Memorial Center in Sarasota, FL.

The Engineer