Mr. George Robert Rennick

George Robert Rennick, 73, of Charlottesville, Virginia, passed away peacefully on Monday, November 10, 2014, at the Hospice House of the Piedmont after a long and courageous battle with Parkinson's Disease and lymphoma. George was born on March 16, 1941, in Wichita, Kansas, the youngest son of Leland C. Rennick and Helen F. Rennick. His childhood was spent on the family wheat farm where he developed his love for animals and his 'green thumb'. George attended Maize High School where he was an outstanding athlete lettering in football, basketball, cross country, and track and field. He went on to graduate from Kansas State College in Pittsburgh, Kansas with a degree in Marketing & Management. After graduating, George worked as a salesman at the local Buick dealership in Wichita. While there, he excelled and realized a passion for the automobile business. In the mid-1960s he applied to the General Motors Field Management Training Program. He was one of only sixteen people chosen from over two thousand applicants for the rigorous fifty-six week training program and, thus, began his fifteen-year career with GM. During his time with the General Motors Corporation he worked in the Buick Motor Division as a Car Distributor in various locations throughout the US including Chicago, San Francisco, and Houston. He later went on to become the District Manager in Washington, D.C., running the office and allocating over two thousand new Buicks a month to eighty-one dealers throughout the mid-Atlantic, before he was promoted to be Zone Business Manager in Buick's New York hub. In 1979, George tired of the corporate life and decided to become an auto dealer himself. He moved to Charlottesville and purchased the Buick franchise from his friend, Jim Williams. In 1984, Isuzu awarded George their franchise, and he went on to become one of the most successful dealers in the United States. George revolutionized the automobile business in Central Virginia through his popular personality and unique advertising campaigns. He became known as "the sharpest pencil in town," and it seemed that everyone wanted to buy a car from his dealership at 900 Preston Avenue. After firmly establishing George Rennick Buick-Isuzu in Charlottesville, he continued his success when he opened Country Style Chevrolet in Ruckersville. In 1998, George retired in order to spend more time with his family. First and foremost, George was a dedicated husband and father. He met and married his loving wife Shirley upon moving to Charlottesville. He became a father with the birth of their daughter, Ronda, who became 'the apple of his eye.' George relished the role of fatherhood and was a most doting Dad. He was never too busy or too tired to spend precious moments with his family. George loved living in Charlottesville and enjoyed the beauty of the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. He was an avid sports fan, a true 'people person,' and took great pleasure in gardening and working in his yard. Furthermore, George was a good and generous member of the community. He supported numerous local activities and charities, and he was a proud longtime donor to the University of Virginia Medical Center and the Virginia Athletics Foundation. George is survived by his devoted wife, Shirley; his adoring daughter, Ronda Pearl, and her husband Hugo, of London, England; his older brother, Alan Rennick, of Brighton, Colorado; his aunt, Pat Zielinski and her husband Col. (Ret.) Les; his brother-in-law, Carroll Harvey and his wife Jo Ann, of Mechanicsville, Virginia; and his four cats, Domino, Checkers, Tuna, and Mahi. George's family would like to thank his doctors and the superb nursing staff at the UVA Medical Center and the Hospice of the Piedmont. They would like to extend a deep appreciation to Charlotte Jackson-Gregory and her assistants who provided loving and compassionate homecare for George in the last months of his life. The family will hold a private interment service at Monticello Memory Gardens. They invite all those who knew and loved George to join them for a Memorial Service to celebrate his life on Saturday, November 15, 2014 at 1 p.m. at Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville. The family requests that all flowers be sent to Teague Funeral Home in Charlottesville or a contribution made to the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA.