Being Starbucks partners my cousin and I had the pleasure of knowing George for over 5 years! Within those years came many great memories. George was a very positive , wise and uplifting individual.  He always saw something in us and had high hopes for us doing great things in life. Also supported us even when our own family didn’t, “The Clark boys are in the building, I see you two taking over this place”. George’s words of encouragement and affirmation always hit us on a deeper level, he was filled with knowledge and great stories that always left our faces with a smile. Even in our last convo he was still uplifting telling us that we will be someone someday. That’s the last memory we have of George which will stay with us forever. (Grande iced green tea in a venti cup with extra ice no water.) 
- Sincerely Keyshawn & Kalen

So blessed and grateful  to have George as our uncle.

I’ve heard it said that encouraging others is God’s work.  George was always dishing out compliments and encouragement. I need to do more of that. He’ll be missed.

George Menghi (yellow shirt) at a Youth Mission Fund Raising Event in Fall of 2010 at Gethsemane during its Annual Picnic and BBQ event which this year included whipped cream pie in the face event with Mike Byerley (in Red Scarf Head covering), Pastor John Cain, and others, including Gethsemane youth.

You are the light of my life our talks every week made me   Think about baseball and my life words cannot express the pain I feel I miss you so much I will try to remember all that you said to me love dr Gail you would call me I will remember that never forget to tell family you love them you are at peace  love your niece gail

Such a nice man. Taking care of the dishes at family night Gethsemane. He will be missed.

From George, I learned the art of checking in. The warmth and intense interest he always displayed toward everyone he met was something to be admired and emulated. I remember him teasing me for going to Berkeley, I think I was even called “Berkeley girl” for eternity. For my twin sister and I, which he loved to tell stories of his twin sisters, he also dubbed “the twins.” 

I often remember thinking to myself whenever I came back home and to church with my parents, “I need to find a community to show up for the way he commits to this church.” It was really so refreshing and his dedication was clear to see. He will be greatly missed, both by his church and really family, and the lives he touched daily. 

Much love to his family during this time.

This was November 2014- my husband Cameron, myself, and George at my wedding!

George loved to help his church and community. He’s pictured here with dear friends, Edda Ertunca and Dorothy Krohn.

I’m the niece who had “star” status in Uncle George’s eyes because I was the first family member to visit him in Texas. If someday I returned with other family members, he assured me I would get first dibs at staying in the “Karen VIP suite.”  To say I am heartsick is an understatement. The years flew by and each year although we talked about it constantly, there was one reason or another to keep postponing the trip. 
 Frannie was right: Uncle George coming to town when we were younger was like waiting for a movie star! Oh so handsome, dressed to impress and yes, he always smelled good! But, it wasn’t just his good looks and charm that captivated us. He was a selfless man who had a heart of gold.  
For those that knew him well, the one gift he had---that he shares with his parents, and sisters-- is that he made ALL OF US feel like we were his “favorite.” Amazingly enough, each of us have totally different experiences with him. I never even knew he liked baseball but cousin Gail would chat for hours about their shared hobby.  Frannie shared their love of TV sitcoms while I had no idea what his TV preference was. With me, we shared relationship woes (mostly mine, LOL) and I was the one who was working on getting him up to speed with technology. “Please get rid of that flip phone Uncle George…You can now text with your voice!”  “Please go to the store and ask for a front facing camera so we can start doing Family Zoom Meetings.”  We were so very close to making that happen.  Sadly, it didn’t and now it’s too late to do the many things we talked about.  
So, lesson I am having to learn from this loss is that We Can’t WAIT, we just have to listen to our hearts when there is that constant tugging to take action.  
Uncle, you’re in good hands now &  have certainly earned the “VIP Suite” in heaven because of the beautiful person you were & for the countless number of good deeds that I’m sure you did for people that only God was aware of. You'll always be in my heart.

George Menghi at a Gethsemane Lutheran Church Council Retreat at Camp Lone Star in La Grange, TX.

George Menghi in background in The Narthex of Gethsemane at the beginning of a Palm Sunday Service in 2010.

George Menghi talking with Warren Larsen (usher) in Narthex of Gethsemane while the Children file into the Sanctuary for one of the special services. (No date was on the photo.)

A mother Year of a Photo of George Menghi outside with the  Annual Gethsemane Lutheran Church BBQ and Picnic.

A Photo of George Menghi helping cut the brisket for the Annual Gethsemane Lutheran Church BBQ and Picnic. George like his flowering shirt, as shows in numerous photos. Others in the photo are Billy Binford, Warren Paulsen, Tammy Krueger, George Menghi, and Kermit Muske.

A  Photo of George Menghi helping cut the brisket for the Annual Gethsemane Lutheran Church BBQ and Picnic. George like his flowering shirt, as shows in numerous photos. Others in the photo are Billy Binford, Warren Paulsen, Tammy Krueger, George Menghi, and Kermit Muske.

I could write for hours about my memories of Uncle George. He had a genuine curiosity and interest in the people whose lives he touched, or even people he did not know that well. He was a truly unique person. I am grateful to know that he is as abundantly loved by his Houston family as he is by those of us who are far away. I can only imagine what it would have been like to live close enough to see him on a regular basis. 

When I was younger, he came to visit us in Maryland. My sister and I thought he was so cool.  He was tall and handsome. He used nice smelling hair and shaving products and he wore cologne.  I think we might have even thought he was a movie star! 

I loved reading about the nicknames he gave the people he knew from Starbucks! One of my nicknames was “Pebbles” because of a costume I wore for Halloween when I was little. But later in life it became “Flannie” because of a mistake I made setting up an email account. He never let me live it down. Every time he emailed me he addressed it to “Flannie.”  Funny thing is, he ended up with his own nickname “The Benefactor” after a comical turn of events over an afghan gift he commissioned my cousin Gail to make for my cousin Kathleen.

Uncle George’s sense of humor is probably what I will cherish most. We bonded over our love of the sitcom “Seinfeld.” He bequeathed me his entire DVD set of the series several years ago. We would go back and forth with Seinfeld references. And often something that would happen in our own lives became like a Seinfeld episode. He relentlessly needled me in recent months when I told him I saw an “Assman” license plate in the Costco parking lot and did not get a picture. He texted me on several occasions to say “I just told so and so about that and he also agrees that you should have gotten that picture!” A missed opportunity for sure – still kicking myself! 
CONT ...

CONT ...  sorry like I said I could go on for hours!!! 

He loved sharing family stories – some were stamped as “approved” while others were pending “verification.” I always got a little family tidbit when I would talk to him on the phone. And there was always a lot of laughter when we talked. 

I do regret not getting to Houston despite talking about it all the time.  I know there were so many people he wanted his family “back East” to meet. But there is joy in knowing that Karen, Sue, and Kathleen will meet some of these people at his memorial service. I have great peace in knowing his final resting place will be near me here in PA and that we will be able to honor him with a burial service here as well. During our cold winters, there will be some snow … and maybe a little black ice … that falls on his gravesite, but I don’t think he would mind. 

God bless Uncle George and eternal rest be granted unto him.  I really miss him. The good Lord has got him now.

George loved his Gethsemane Church and Church Family doing Volunteering work to help with the Orphan Grain Train Ukraine Clothing Drive and Wainwright Elementary Special projects, and regularly operating and doing dish washing machine for Wednesday Family Nights. He always had his designated Favorite Seat on Sunday Morning for the Sunday Service.  He rarely missed a service and you could expect his presence and always a positive comment or a question, if that was on his mind.  Charles and I will miss his friendship and loyalty to his church and to his Lord and Savior. God Bless You and Watch Over Us from your Heavenly Home. You will be our friend in our many memories. Thank You George for being there with us as a partner through this journey on Earth. 
Ed & Charles

George with other Getsemane Members in Gethsemane’s Narthex on a Sunday Morning standing on the newly replaced and updated flooring and still under COVID  concerns.

George with other Gethsemane members who helped load the U-Haul van with clothing and other donations for the Orphan Grain Train Ukraine Donations that were to be taken to Zion Lutheran Church in Pasadena drop off location in South Houston

George working with other Gethsemane members who helped load the U-Haul van with clothing and other donations for the Orphan Grain Train Ukraine Donations that were to be taken to zion Lutheran Church in Pasadena drop off location in South Houston

George with other Gethsemane members and Friends who helped load the U-Haul van with clothing and other donations for the Orphan Grain Train Ukraine Donations that were to be taken to Zion Lutheran Church in Pasadena drop off location in South Houston

George with other Gethsemane members and friends who helped load the U-Haul van with clothing and other donations for the Orphan Grain Train Ukraine Donations that were to be taken to Zion Lutheran Pasadena drop off location in South Houston

Inside Gethsemane Lutheran, a view George would see on Sundays and Special Services he would attend

George with Edda and Dorothy having their photo with Gethsemane’s flowering Easter Cross

George with other Getsemane members(Dorothy, Edda, Cutis & Lisa)  with the Gethsemane’s flowering  Easter Cross

George helping provide plants for Wainwright Elemementary beautification project before school started with Edda and Dorothy, other Gethsemane Members

George’s great nephews wedding. We were so grateful he was able to celebrate with us.

Our sincere condolences to George’s family and friends. My husband David and I had the pleasure of meeting George through our daughters who were baristas at Starbucks through high school and college. We felt we knew him before we even met him since his name came up so often. When we finally did meet him, we came to know why our daughters thought so highly of him. He was a true gentleman with a great sense of humor and was just a great guy all the way around.  We will miss our luncheons. George will be in our hearts always.
David & Maria Rodriguez

I knew George as a frequent customer when I started working at Starbucks on 34th and 290 in 2005. My sisters Elise and Celina worked at the 43rd and Ella store and he was a frequent visitor there too, so they also knew and loved him well. George would bring trivia questions and once held a little tournament between the various baristas. He had a friend who collected the new quarters that were made for each state and paid us $5 if we found the newest one for him. George also loved giving nicknames. Some of my coworkers were Iron Lady, The Quiet One, The Professor and the Colonel (those two were other customers), my best friend Kelsie was Kelsie Baby! and one girl he simply called Reese because she reminded him of Reese Witherspoon. I never got one at Starbucks but later became ‘the Chairman of the Luncheon Committee” since I set up our lunch dates. My sister Elise became “the traveler” because we’d plan meals around her work trips. He knew my now husband Cameron who was always at the store visiting me, and George attended at our wedding in 2014.
I left Starbucks in 2019. We had coffee dates and planned lunches with my sisters and other Starbucks alumni. We’d meet up at restaurants along 290 and each time, George would be there waiting, with the table ready, talking to the waiter to make sure he paid the bill and no one else.
George and I emailed a few times a year to check in and each time, he’d sign off with, “Still the best barista of all time!” I’m never going to forget him. George was a charismatic, friendly, outgoing, funny person and always made me feel like a million bucks after we spoke, either via email, the phone, or in person. I loved him like another grandfather, but he was also just such a good friend. My parents both knew him well and when we heard about George’s passing, my dad told me, “I’m so sorry about your…George!”  He meant so much to me, my family, and my friends, and I’m so thankful he was in our lives.

George on top left with the Starbucks guests at my wedding in 2014

George with his brothers-in-law, Allan Bernard and Bob Hopkins. They were friends since the 1950's!

Enjoying a beautiful visit, sharing and verifying stories with his sister and cousin Richie.

Circa 1990 uncle george took me to Galveston! We met up with his brother, my uncle and godfather Richie (not shown) and his wife Aunt Juanita, and cousin Connie, also not shown. Why is he wearing sneakers on the beach? I’ll never know but we made memories that I’ll cherish forever!!!!

Uncle George showing his nieces and nephew he can still ride a bike!! (He fell off shortly after this photo was taken. lol)

The Menghi Family:  George and his parents and siblings at Huntington Beach, NY. The only one not shown is his sister  Betty who is the photographer. George is the shirtless one.

George with his twin sisters and brother in laws!

The greatest uncle a girl could ever have.

George and his siblings, Joyce, Janice, Betty, Elsie and brother Richie. 05/03/1986

The Menghi Family, Huntington Beach, L.I.  (The only one missing is my mom who must have been taking the photo of her siblings and parents.) (George is the shirtless one.)

I’ve been married to George’s sister Janice for 57 years, and known and been friends with George for almost 65 Years.  George and his gracious family welcomed me into their home.  At that time families lived close by, walking distance or a bus ride away.  I lived right around the corner.  Everyone was, as it is said, close knit.

As time marched on, people separated.   George took a job in New Jersey, although he did return home most weekends.  I took a job in the DC area, and married Janice shortly thereafter.  His sister moved to CT, his brother joined the Air Force, etc.  We all kept in touch, and got together whenever we could.

Became more difficult when George relocated to CA, but we maintained close contact.  George was always thoughtful and managed to be part of the family life from afar.  I valued his friendship and the regretfully few times we managed to be physically together.  A couple of times in the recent past he came back to the East Coast, and it was my privilege to drive him around to meet up with separated family and friends.  I especially valued the few days he spent with Janice and I at out home in PA.

The reality of the loss of George is slowly settling in.  We will deeply miss his, but as the cliche’ goes “Forever in our Hearts”.  

George’s remains will be placed in a plot right next to ours at our church.  Comforting that he will not be alone.

George always welcomed my wife with kindness and respect, and spoke to her at length and with warmth and humor.  
George had a "young soul"; sharing about Jazz musicians he had met with my son who was working to be a Jazz drummer, and also caring about young people within our church.
I think of George as an encourager and funny person who kept it real and was always respectful to others.
I will miss you, George, you were a prince of a gentleman, and I know I will see you in Heaven!
Rev. Jerry McNamara, M.Div. BCC

OBITUARY

George Menghi

March 9, 1938 – August 20, 2024

Pat H. Foley & Company

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