George, Carol & Don,

I am so sad & sorry to learn of Uncle George's passing. He was such a great man, always had a smile on his face & a kiss to great you. 

We shared many good times with your folks at the lake.  I remember Uncle George making a toast for my mom's birthday &  he became "faint" & we had to slip a chair under him. He always had a good time! He took such great care of your mom for so many years. I will miss him but have so many great memories.

Your cousin, Janeen

George -

What a great eulogy to your dad!  Our condolances to you, Don, & Carol.

Dave

George’s Eulogy to Dad – April 14, 2011.

Thank you all for coming today.  Our family appreciates it and I’m sure dad appreciates it too.  

There is short prayer that I found at Dad’s house and I want to read it to you.  I’m sure it meant a great deal to Dad and he must have said it often.  It’s called the Fisherman’s Prayer and goes like this, “May the Good Lord help me see the day when I catch the one that got away.”  Today, the Good Lord, as a fisher of men, caught a very special person in dad.  Dad’s specialness was not  bound by great deeds that he did or the wonderful things that he accomplished but by the special way he lived his life.

About a year and half ago he went on the annual fishing trip to Canada with “the guys”.  He hadn’t gone on this trip for over 10 years. The date to leave was early October.  His excitement built each day as the trip got closer and closer.  He had the passport by July.  His fishing gear was all organized and cleaned by August.   And for his birthday in September he had gifts of all the warm clothing and raingear he would ever need.  As October drew near he shared his excitement with everyone.  Showing us maps of where he was going, telling us of the drive, how long it would take, and where they would stop along the way.  

But the fishing trip was bitter sweet.  The scenery was breath taking, the companionship was wonderful, and the food excellent.  The owners of the lodge where they stayed treated him like a king.  But the drive was longer than he remembered, the weather colder and wetter than his bones liked, the walk to and from the dock steeper than his legs could carry him and the lake choppier than his body could tolerate.  And of course, the lousy fish just weren’t biting!  It was his last fishing trip.

When he got home he simply said they he wouldn’t go back on the trip again; that he was too old for it.  No amount of encouragement could get him to give it another try.  But, Dad didn’t complain or feel bitter about not going fishing again.  He had learned a long time ago that life would have its disappointments.  Instead he enjoyed what he did have.  The company of good friends, the support of a family that loved him, and the memories of a life well lived.  This was so much like dad.  Knowing how to bend and not to break. 

Dad faced much adversity in his life.  He grew up poor in a coal mining town during the Great Depression.  As a boy, he worked as an usher in a movie theater so he could watch the westerns he so enjoyed.  A cardboard suitcase and a bus ticket out of town were his high school graduation presents.  Barely  out of school, WW II came along and he was sent to Europe to fight in some of the battles that others only read about in history books.  

He survived the war and when he came home, as he told me on occasion, he felt he had a lot of living to do.  Dad celebrated life, but life held one more surprise for him. That surprise happened on May 7th , 1949.  It was of course meeting mom - his beloved Betty.  I don’t think mom intended to sweep dad off his feet, but she did.  He told his friends after the second date, that she may not know it yet but she was going to marry him – all he had to do was convince her.  They became engaged on September 24, 1949. – Pretty fast work dad! -  I know these dates because after mom passed away he wrote all this down in his “My Life and Love with Betty” memories. Even death could not quench the love he felt for her.

My father was a man that was kind and generous.  Whether mom brought this out in him or he was always this way I can’t judge.  All I know is the way he treated us. He worked hard for his family and made sure that his family was taken care of even if it meant he had to sacrifice.  I remember one summer evening when I was a kid, some of our friends came over and wanted us to go up to the corner store to get an ice cream cone.  Don and I asked him if we could have some money to get ice cream.  He gave each of us 10 cents – which was a enough for a small cone.  We happily ran off with our friends.  But later that evening I heard him and mom talking.  Money was tight and mom was asking him where he got the money to give us for ice cream.  He said that he would skip his morning coffee for the next couple of days – for as he put it, “the boys should be able to have an ice cream cone with their friends every once and a while”.  

In the summer dad always had a big vegetable garden – to those of us called upon to weed it, it could be called an enormous garden.  But as children we all had chores to do.  Dad felt very strongly that we all had to learn that it was important to contribute to the well being of others. He didn’t ask us to give what we couldn’t give, but we were expected to give something.

Dad felt fortunate to have that large garden.  He shared the bounty from the garden with neighbors, friends, and family.  Dad and mom would also can and later freeze some of the vegetables.  Canning vegetable was hot steamy work.  But in all the years they did this I never once heard them yell at each other or even utter a cross word to each other.  In this and in some many other things they were a team that fit each other like a hand and glove.

That dad was totally devoted to mom there can be no doubt. His love for her was great enough for him to care for her in the final years of her life when Alzheimer’s disease had almost erased her mind.  He had his own health issues with all the operations he had, but he was always there for her.  He was always patient with her, gently coaxing her to take her pills or eat some food and later even helping her to bathe and dress.  

Dad never saw taking care of mom as a sacrifice. He may have missed a few fishing trips taking care of her, but it never was a sacrifice.  He loved her more than anything and missed her greatly over the last 2 years.  

Dad was special because he knew that nothing is a sacrifice if you do it out of love.  He knew that hard work is its own reward, and that generosity rewards the giver more than the receiver.  But more than anything else he had the peace, the happiness, the contentment and the sense of completeness that true love brings.  And that is special.  

The last time I talked with Dad was Saturday at the nursing home.  He was a little unhappy with the responsiveness of the some of the nurses to his requests.  “But”, he said, “they are young and they need him to teach them the ways of the world.”   It’s too bad they didn’t have this chance because they would have learned what a wonderful teacher he was.

I don’t know if dad had a favorite poem but I came across one whose words are simple, but express what I think are Dad’s sentiments.  
An Indian Prayer (author unknown)
Should your blanket be torn, 
May your breezes blow warm, 
May your pleasure be what you find. 
May the burdens you bear 
Like your bounty-be shared 
May you leave something good behind 

May the sky and the land 
Rise to your command 
May your senses come like the night. 
Live in peace with the Earth 
As in death-As in birth 
May you prosper, and have a good life.

Thank You.

Our deepest sympathy. George, I remember when we were in High School and College stopping by, both your parents were great to me. 

Carl

Cousins George, Don, Carol and families,
We are sorry to hear of the loss of your father, Uncle George.  I am especially glad to have been able to spend time visiting him last year. We are all lucky to have good memories of him...always smiling. I'm sure your Mom and Dad and my parents are having a grand reunion in heaven.
Our thoughts are with you,
Steve, Pat, James, Shannon, and Chris

George and Ronnie,

I am so sorry for your loss.  My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

My Deepest Sympathies to George's family~what a nice man~and to tell a nice story...My mother suggested to him that he write down his Love Story that he had with his wife Betty.  He did so and dropped it off at my house so I could give it to her since she was the idea behind this lovely story~~I cried reading it as all my girlfriends that I read it too!!! My single friends want a guy like him :-) God Bless

To the family of Uncle George,
    My deepest sympathy to all of my cousins on the loss of your dad, my Uncle George.  He will be fondly remembered, especially from my trip to Ohio last summer when I was able to spend a few days with him at his house.  Uncle George was in fine form, showing off family pictures, reminiscing about his younger days, and especially remembering the many beautiful years that he spent with the love of his life, Aunt Betty.  He was a great host, as he always was when my dad visited him each year, and before I left he gave me one of his beautiful woodworking pictures which I will treasure forever.  Uncle George was the salt of the earth, and will be missed by the Novotney family in Massachusetts, and will always remain in our hearts.

George, Don, Carol and families,
We are very sorry for your loss.  We have many cherished memories of your father and a life well-loved.  He missed your mom so much; I'm sure they are dancing in heaven and sharing good times with all who have passed.  (Probably having a shot of Old Grandad as an eye-opener!)  May the love of family and friends carry you through the grief of losing such a wonderful person, our Uncle George.

George and Ronnie,

I am sorry to read of the loss of your father.  My deepest condolences.

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

George E. Novotney

21 septembre 1922 – 10 avril 2011

DiCicco & Sons Funeral Home

Montrez votre soutien

Envoyez Vos
Condoléances

Partager
L'avis De Décès

Obtenir les mises à jour

Prestations de Service