He had 2 sisters, Lilly and Bessie and an older brother Ray, all now deceased.
He attended Miami Edison high school and joined the Navy where he shipped off on the USS Hornet to the Pacific war theater. When he returned from the war, he spent a lot of time in the Everglades, mostly fishing.
He met Winifred Eleanor Hall when he stopped in the Lemon City Library near Miami (where she worked) looking for a book of poems by Robert W. Service. She had a copy and he read to her “The Cremation of Sam McGee”. She hitched her wagon to his shooting star and never looked back. They were married for 63 years and had one son, Richard, who lives in Jupiter with his wife, Claire. They have 2 sons, Glenn and Patrick.
George was a true “Renaissance Man” and his hobbies, interests and expertise could fill volumes. They included geography, history, Florida history, Spanish treasure salvage, poetry, world politics, the stock market, commodity trading, etc., etc., etc.
He worked for the Florida Marine Patrol (now FWC) and the National Park Service, first in the Everglades then designing Biscayne National Park for the Dept. of the Interior. He served there as the first Park Superintendent. He took a hiatus from the NPS to salvage treasure in the Bahamas.
An avid treasure hunter, he and his son worked as salvage divers on the Nuestra Senora de la Maravilla where they recovered gold, silver, emeralds and other artifacts.
He returned to the Park Service and was stationed at Sandy Hook, NJ and Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine before moving to the Boston Headquarters where he was the Regional Safety Officer.
After retiring, he moved to Gainesville to be near Richard and Claire before both families moved back to the SE Florida coast in Jupiter in 1991. He and his wife attended Grace Immanuel Bible Church and Beacon Baptist Church for many years.
He was predeceased by his wife and is survived by son Richard & daughter-in-law Claire (who he called his daughter), grandson Glenn (who lives in CA) and grandson Patrick (who lives in NC).
He never forgot the horror of war and always prayed for an end to them. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Southeast Honor Flight which relies completely on donations and takes vets to Washington to visit the memorials. George went on a flight about 10 years ago.
Please make donations to Southeast Florida Honor Flight. www.honorflightsefl.org ( please note on donation site," In memory of George L Sites") or mail checks to Southeast Florida Honor Flight, In Memory of George L. Sites, P. O. Box 1503 Stuart, FL 34995.
His other love was animals so donations to our local no-kill facility, Furry Friends, could be made in his name.
Like Will Rogers, he never met a stranger and he slipped peacefully away to be with Jesus forever, a peaceful ending he earned. It was a beautiful ending to a great life.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18