George Carroll Reel

George Carroll Reel died unexpectedly on May 24, 2023, at one of his favorite places, Disney World, at the age of 76. George is survived by his loving wife, Laurie, his siblings, Judy Kane (husband Richard) and Steve Reel (wife Cathy), his child, Jennifer Henry (husband Bill), and two grandchildren, Elizabeth and Abigail Henry. He is preceded in death by his parents, Wilbur and Josephine Reel.

George was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, on September 28, 1946. He enlisted in 1966 into the Air Force to serve his country during the Vietnam War as a Flight Simulator Specialist and Radio Operator, and was discharged in 1970 at MacDill AFB. He then worked for the majority of his career in the computer industry, first with Honeywell, and then with various software developmental companies in their sales departments, including Cylentium where he was working at the time of his death.

Just prior to his separation from the Air Force, George and Laurie married at Christ the King Church in Tampa, and lived the majority of their marriage in the Tampa Bay area with a short time in the Atlanta area.

Always a jokester, George had a love for spending time in the outdoors fishing and hunting and tinkering with things, spurred by growing up in rural Virginia and his father (who worked at the shipyards in the Portsmouth area). More recently, George has enjoyed sharing Disney experiences with his wife and granddaughters. And he recently celebrated the college graduation of his oldest grandchild just a few weeks ago and was so excited with her beginning her professional career.

A visitation is scheduled for June 6th between 6:00 and 8:00 pm at Blount & Curry Funeral Home, 605 S. MacDill Avenue, Tampa, with his burial service to occur on June 7th at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida. All are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a disabled veterans organization or diabetes research program. The family would like to thank those guests and visitors at Disney World who rendered CPR aide and assistance on May 24th prior to EMS arrival.