George Lawrence Supcoe, Jr. passed away on Saturday, April 21, 2018 after a long and tedious battle with Multiple Myeloma, in the presence of his loving wife, Iris, and daughter, Olivia. He was born in Welch, West Virginia, February 25, 1936, to George Lawrence Supcoe and Suzanna Helen (Marcus) Supcoe, both deceased.
George graduated from Virgie High School, Virgie, KY, attended Pikeville College on a basketball scholarship and University of Kentucky prior to entering the U.S. Army Signal Corp where he was stationed in Orleans, France. While serving there, he was a member of the basketball team which traveled all over Europe. Upon completion of his six year tour of duty, he attended and graduated from Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne, IN, with a BSEE degree in Electrical Engineering, Communications option.
His engineering career began in Brevard County, FL where he worked as a communications engineer supporting and developing ground communications systems for Teledyne Brown, Pan American, and General Electric, at Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral. While employed there, he met Iris (formerly of Orlando and Cocoa Beach) and they were married on June 19, 1965. He left the space industry in 1968 moving to Tennessee, where he entered the telecommunications business with ITT Telecom, later transferring to North Carolina where he worked and retired with Nortel at RDU. He also worked with ITEC Incorporated in Huntsville, AL. While working at Pan American and GE, he received many commendations for his excellent work. He travelled the world, including Canada, South America, Europe, Indonesia, as well as the United States, to design and assist in the development of various communications systems.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Iris Lynn (Arthur) Supcoe, Clayton; one son, Allen (Pam), Mosheim, TN; and two daughters Caitlyn Thomas (David), Pittsburg, PA and Olivia Lynn Supcoe of Clayton; two grandchildren: Chance (Megan) Supcoe and Kandis (Brock) Johnson; two great grandchildren: Chance Tyler Supcoe and Micaela Reese Johnson; sister Marcus Dana (Supcoe) Gravel (Fred) and nephew Trevor Frederick Markus Gravel of Indian Harbour Beach, FL and other relatives in KY, VA, MI, and PA. He will be sadly missed by his faithful dogs, Floyd and Roxanne, and cats, Minnie, Rae and Hogan.
George was a faithful member of Horne Memorial United Methodist Church in Clayton for thirty years. A memorial service will be held at Horne on Sunday, April 29, 2018 at 2:00 P.M. in the church sanctuary. The family will receive friends and family immediately following the memorial service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Building Fund of Horne Memorial United Methodist Church, P O Box 475, Clayton, NC. A special thanks to the nurses and doctors at UNC Cancer Hospital these past ten years, and to our Transitions LifeCare nurse, Penny Bradish, RN. Online condolences may be made to the Supcoe family at www.mclaurinatpinecrest.com. Arrangements are with McLaurin Funeral Home, Clayton.
