George Antony Roehrich

George Antony Roehrich died peacefully on August 4, 2023, after a brief illness. He was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, on September 30, 1926, one of nine siblings. Like so many others, his family moved to San Diego after World War II, and settled in the Normal Heights neighborhood. There, George began working as a clerk in a Safeway grocery store.

In 1951, George married his wife of 68 years, Lynn, and they had three children. A few years later, George went to work for his older brother Eugene, who had started Active Heating and Air Conditioning. Over time, as residential construction boomed, the company grew. In the mid 1960s, George and his brother-in-law Scotty bought the business from Eugene. The company continued to flourish, and George and Scotty ran it for many years. Eventually, George bought Scotty’s share of the business, and he managed it until his retirement in 1995.

George continued working after his retirement. He avidly bought and sold stocks, spending his days recording vast amounts of data in hand-written tables. This helped him to make decisions about the trades he wished to complete. He was a successful stock trader, and very much enjoyed the challenge of beating the market.

The pillars of George’s life were his family, his Catholic faith, and his belief in people. He was a product of the harsh environment of the Great Depression in a small town in the northern plains, and that experience shaped his worldview. He was generous, often helping folks in need, and he always expressed a belief that things would get better. This extended to his support for the Chargers, whom he forgave instantly for abandoning San Diego, and the Padres, whom he always believed were on the cusp of greatness. No level of chronic mediocrity or futility could shake his devotion to his teams.

George was preceded in death by his wife Lynn, and seven of his eight siblings. He is survived by his sister Carol, his children, Barb, Rick (Anne), and Bill, and his four grandsons, David (Amanda), Rick, Brandon, and Brian. All of us miss him very much, and we treasure our many happy memories of him.