George Vega, Jr. passed away on Saturday, January 19, 2019 after a lengthy illness. A 60-year resident of Naples and one of its first attorneys, his legacy can be found in his family, friends and the contributions he made to our community and numerous charitable institutions.
George was born in New York City but grew up in Miami, Florida after a short residence in Cuba. He attended Miami Edison High, graduated from the University of Florida with honors in 1952 with a B.A. and received his law degree from the University of Florida in 1955. While at the University of Florida, George was a member and served as president of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity and was a member of the Blue Key Honor Society.
After law school, George served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a First Lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General’s office and taught political science at the University of Eastern North Carolina. He moved to Naples in 1958 and joined the law firm of Smith and Carroll. He was assistant state attorney from 1961 to 1965 and then became the senior partner at the law firm of Vega, Brown, Nichols, Stanley and Martin. Before the days of increasingly specialized practices, George handled all legal matters for his clients. For decades, many trusted George with everything from routine contracts to messy civil suits, relying on his counsel and trusting in his discretion and unflappability.
He was legal counsel to several Naples project developers, Glen Sample, developer of Port Royal; Christian Duvekot, developer of Lely Estates; Sydney Hubschman, developer of The Glades; Ray Lutgert, developer of Park Shore; and Smith and Hardin, who with the Fleischmanns developed Coastland Center. George also served on several Florida Bar committees and was a member of the Board of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers for several years. He was honored by the Collier County Bar Association as the recipient of Collier County’s first Lion of the Law award in recognition of his ethics and professionalism.
George was also very active in civic affairs. He was one of the original members of the City Parks and Recreation Board and was one of the founders of the Big Cypress Nature Center and the Collier County Conservancy. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. He was the first President of the Childrens Museum at Big Cypress Center, served on the Review Board of the United Fund, headed the capital campaign for the YMCA and was a member of the Board of Naples Community Hospital, the David Lawrence Center and the Florida House in Washington, DC.
He was predeceased by his college sweetheart and wife of 59 years, Joan Margaret Vega. He is survived by his children Lynn Cravey (Dale), Susan Vega, Leslie Vega and John Vega (Yadira); and his grandchildren Lindsey Shachmurove (Amir), Olivia Vega, Clayton Cravey and Sofia Vega.
George was known for his dry wit and his generous spirit. He loved the Florida Gators, especially football and basketball. He also enjoyed travel, skiing in Colorado, music, reading and staying current with world events. He will be greatly missed. Memorials are welcome to the Friends of Rookery Bay https://rookerybay.org/about-us/friends-of-rookery-bay.html or the David Lawrence Center https://davidlawrencecenter.org.
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