George Chalmers

George Chalmers, 85, died peacefully at home in Tampa, Florida on January 28, 2025. He was born in Medford, Massachusetts on April 29, 1939. He was preceeded by his parents, John and Janet Chalmers, from Glasgow, Scotland. George was a first generation American. He is survived by his wife, Rosalie Puls Chalmers, the love of his life.

Upon his graduation with a BA from the University of New Hampshire in 1962, George was commissioned as a second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He served a tour as an Infantry Platoon Commander in Vietnam in 1965-1966. He decided not to extend his second tour and retired as a first Lieutenant, and that same year he entered Boston University in 1966 and earned an MBA in 1968. He then joined IBM and moved to New York City to work as a marketing representative that specialized in sales to stockbroker firms. Twenty-four years and several assignments in sales, marketing, and management in New York, California, and Europe, he retired from IBM. Then joined Westcomm Technology Group Inc. in 1998 as Director of Marketing where he engaged in a government project in Phoenix AZ for IBM. In 1999, he fully retired.

George enjoyed traveling. In 1998, prior to joining Westcomm, he drove through Costa Rica, Belize, and El Salvador, and was in Scotland, his favorite place, for the millennium. He later moved to Tampa and met his neighbor, Rosalie, who he affectionately called Petunia. They were married for 21 years, and during 15 of those years, they explored all four corners of Scotland. George’s second passion was golf! He belonged to the Carrollwood Country Club in Tampa and Brora Golf Club in Brora, Scotland. One year, in a tournament at Brora Golf Club, George had a hole-in-one on a par three. This amazing put allowed him the privilege to be in a drawing to name the hole on this par three for perpetuity. George won the drawing and he named the hole, Geordy's Birdie! Geordy was his nickname as a child. He also enjoyed oil painting and writing. In 1982, George wrote a memoir about his time in Vietnam, called Casualties.

George was also preceded by his daughter Lisa Chalmers; sister Susan Bissell; stepsons John L. Puls, Jr. and Pierre D. Hernandez. He leaves behind nephews John, George, and Steven Bissell; cousins Jim and Maggie McCaig of Auchterarder Scotland, Bob and Jean Kelley of Londonderry, NH.; step children, Regina Hernandez, Elizabeth Duchaine, (Dewey), Richard Puls, (Danielle); grandchildren and great grandchildren; brother-in-law Vincent Palermo (Shirley), sister-in-laws Nora Parker, and Doris Myers (Billy).

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, February 12th, at Blount and Curry Funeral Home, on 605 S. MacDill Ave, Tampa FL. Visitation will be held from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. A full military honors and bagpipes interment will follow at Garden of Memories Cemetery at 1:00pm. Please join the family immediately after the interment for a reception at Carrollwood Country Club.