George Amos Strickland

On a cloudy day, George A. Strickland could make you smile. Born August 7, 1941, he died March 16, 2022 age 80 in Las Vegas, NV after long illnesses. He was from Fulton County, GA, youngest of three sons of Carl and Lillie Mae (Phillips) Strickland. In Georgia, he was Amos; at work he was George; in the Army overseas he was Good Man SFC Strickland; in Nevada, he was Cornbread Amos, country cowboy poet. His humor was matched by his courage for he was born with torticollis, a handicap his family couldn’t fix, except for Shriners’ charity help at age 11. His father died at 16, leaving him to farm with his mom (older brothers, Carl Maurice and James Dorsey gone). They moved to Alpharetta, GA and he graduated from Forsyth County High in 1960. He joined the Army Reserves, cooked for Uncle John’s, Harry the Greek, and became fulltime Army for five years. He left to tackle bill collecting as a loan officer for Ideal Loan in GA and JC Penney’s in Dallas. He moved to San Antonio to work for a new age boutique naming it, “Aquarius.” With the Alamo in sight, it was easy to rejoin the Army. At 30, he earned wings with the 82nd Airborne, Ft. Benning, GA and served two years; then back to regular Army with duties in Panama, NJ, AZ, CA, and three tours in Germany. In 1991, after the Gulf War, a Bronze Star and many awards, he retired, having achieved a 26-year career in Food Service Management. He hiked, biked, loved photography, and upon retiring hiked at Arizona Hot Springs where he rescued Judith Brooks-Strickland from a mountain top. She became his wife of 29 years. Their first date was a trip to Delta, UT with PAN, Photographic Arts of Nevada where he repelled into an eagle’s nest for an award-winning photo of a baby golden eagle. Encouraged, he earned an Associate Degree of Applied Science/Graphic Technology, emphasis Photography, from Community College So. Nevada at 56, graduating Phi Theta Kappa. He was a published photographer/author whose exhibits toured with NV State Museum. The Curse of Rhyolite book was a grant from National Endowment for the Arts and the Nevada Arts Council for photos, poetry, and tourism. He worked for Lifetouch School Photography, Walgreens Photo, and LV Metropolitan Police Dept. Community Service. He performed events, TV, and on radio portrayed the comedic Professor Astronomyonomy who explained the universe to an Area 51 audience. He published four books, a CD, poetry, play, short stories, songs and enjoyed hosting Tumbleweed Tales Society, and armchair acting with the Shakespeare Round Table, both of which he founded. An honest, generous friend he would say: “Do the right thing.” He is survived by his wife, cousins, and nephews. A mass celebrating his life was held at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, Pahrump, NV and burial services were provided through Palm Mortuary Cheyenne, Las Vegas, NV on Good Friday on April 15, 2022 with full military honors at Boulder City So. NV Veterans Cemetery.

A visitation for George will be held Friday, April 15, 2022 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at Palm Cheyenne Mortuary, 7400 West Cheyenne Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada 89129. Following the visitation will be a committal service at 1:20 PM at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1900 Veterans Memorial Drive, Boulder City, Nevada 89005.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmcheyenne.com for the Strickland family.