George I. Worsley, Jr.

A warm, talented, calm mannered, soft-spoken man who loved people and animals alike died on October 28, 2021. He was known by many names. Some called him Pops; his wife and partner of 49 years called him Pappy; some knew him as Uncle George; some knew him as Mr. Worsley. His Baltimore family knew him as Brother. His clients knew him as Pop and Mr. W. And his little four-footed companion, who stayed by his bedside for the last three weeks of his life, knew him as her buddy who, more often than not, didn’t mind sharing a meal with her.

George Ira Worsley, Jr., son of the late George and Ethel Worsley was born on April 3, 1927, in Baltimore, Maryland. His primary education was an ordinary one. He attended Baltimore City Public Schools and graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in June of 1944. But ordinary ended for him following high school. In 1944, George was drafted into the Navy but served only one year because WW2 was coming to an end. In 1945 he was honorably discharged, and it was then that his life took a turn towards permanence. Always mechanically inclined, having the talent to take things apart and put them back together, George saw his future in engineering. He applied to Howard’s engineering school, a selective institution, and the only university in the country, at the time, open to black men interested in engineering.

In 1950, George graduated Cum Laude from Howard with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Shortly after that, he was once again drafted to serve yet another year -- this time, he served with the US Army, stationed in Virginia, during the Korean war.

In 1957, he officially became licensed in DC as a Professional Engineer, becoming one of very few professional Black engineers at the time. Upon receiving his License, George worked for Dollar Engineering for several years. But he knew he wanted more than a life of working for someone else, and in 1968 George I. Worsley Jr and Associates Consulting Engineers was officially established. He invested his time and talent to his firm until he was not physically able to do so. At 94 years of age George still had clients who counted on him and demanded his expertise, an expertise that was documented with engineering credentials in DC, MD, VA, MA, NC, and PA.

He was a brilliant and respected engineer who mentored many architects, engineers, and contractors over the years. He loved his work, and everyone knew it. He loved getting into the mechanical design system of a building, loved making a space comfortable, loved solving design problems. He understood and could design small and larger mechanical and electrical systems. He worked on large and small projects all over the region, including DC General Hospital, WMATA metro stations, and DC Public Schools. And over the years, he also mentored family and friends, employing them and bringing them into the fold as they grew.

At an early age, George married Doris Worsley, and the two had one child, Mary. E. Worsley. Sadly, they both preceded him death. But George’s warm spirit was not meant to be alone. In 1968 -- a big year for George -- he met Gloria, a young, sexy, Jamaican paralegal working in Washington. Six months later they married and spent the rest of their lives together laughing. They loved to laugh at others together, not out of meanness, but rather out of their own private little entertainment. They were crazy about each other. Rumor has it that Gloria told her sisters that George was the most wonderful husband ever. But we all knew that. They were one and worked as one, even on the simplest tasks. Gloria loved her crossword puzzles and would start them, leaving the finishing to George. They loved their little road trips. They often traveled to the eastern shore just for ice cream (one of George’s favorites), or to Richmond for iced tea. They were wanderers together: Canada, Jamaica, Europe. It didn’t matter, as long as they were moving and together. Their only child, Gayll, often talked about going over to visit the parents only to find a house empty of parents.

Always the caretaker, the anchor, the root of the young Worsley family, George was born to George and Ethel, the first of 10 children. He was preceded in death by siblings, Joseph, Margret, Joyce, Ethel, Catherine, and Ernest. But as Brother to the family, he made sure to stay connected with each of them. Baltimore was just a short travel away.

George will truly be missed. His calm demeanor, his intelligence, his humor, his wandering spirit, his love of music are a reminder to us of a life well lived and one that will inevitably remain in our hearts forever.

To celebrate his memory, George leaves his daughter, Gayll Worsley; one stepdaughter Mary Rhino; one grandson, George B. Cunningham; one great granddaughter, Shakira Cunningham; three Siblings, William (Sissy) Worsley, Jean (Donald) Lane, and Bernice Hall, and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins.