George Gecy passed away of heart failure on December 26th, 2022. Born July 29, 1929 to Andrew and Anna Gecy in Pittsburgh, PA, George had lived in the Antelope Valley for more than 60 years.

He was predeceased by brothers Andy and John, sisters Anne (Spontak) and Ruth (Kuhn), and his wife of 64 years, Hazel (Truesdell). He is survived by sons David (Sophia) and Robert (Leslie), grandson George, and many nieces and nephews.

George joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1948, was stationed in Okinawa during the Korean War, and met his wife Hazel at Ed-wards Air Force Base. After completing assignments in Japan, New Mexico, and Edwards, he retired in 1968 with the rank of Senior Master Sergeant. After separating from the Air Force, George was an agent of the New York Life Insurance Company for 50 years.

He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, and camping with his wife and two sons. He loved cars and driving. George and his family made annual excursions to National Parks in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. He enjoyed rock-hounding and exploring the deserts of southern California and would sometimes travel for hundreds of miles to find a particular gemstone for use in making jewelry for his wife, Hazel. In their later years, George and Hazel made annual meccas to Yosemite National Park and would take day trips together to view desert wildflowers every spring.

George was the long-time Presient of the Edwards Gem and Mineral Society, a member of Toast-masters International, a founding member and Director of the Antelope Valley Partners for Health, and a Director of the United Way, representing Antelope Valley. He was instrumental in establishing the Antelope Valley Mobile Clinic that has served the valley for the last 30 years and, for many years, volunteered his time to be its first driver.

George and his wife Hazel will be interred together at Joshua Memorial Cemetery on May 9, 2023. A celebration of his life will be held on 3:00 PM on May 9th at the Antelope Valley Partners for Health Conference Cen-ter at 44226 10th Street West, in Lancaster. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Antelope Valley Partners for Health or to the Wounded Warrior Proj-ect at: woundedwarriorproject.org.

Editor’s note:

Uncle George was one of our Gecy relatives who lived far away from his family on the east coast, but he worked hard to stay connected. Living in California it was difficult to be physically connected with his family from the Pittsburgh area and to keep up with family affairs. Frequent and long interesting phone calls involving military history, proper diet and health discussions, along with concerns about family dominated the conversations.

He loved to take long drives and told me many stories of loading up for a trip many miles away just to have a special dessert treat or to view an array of spring flowers. He, Aunt Hazel and the boys loved to visit the National Parks to take in the awesome scenery. When I was stationed in Yuma, AZ in the Marine Corps, all I did was mention that I would like to visit the LA area and sure enough, you guessed it…here he comes all the way from Lancaster, CA to Yuma, AZ to pick me up for a long weekend. I remember it was March 1968 and I was there to help him open his swimming pool for the season. Uncle George was the last survivor of his generation, and our generation is proud and honored to pass on the heritage of our family and carry the torch of the Gecy name.■