George H. Orgelman

1919 - 2014

George H. Orgelman, died on Thursday, Feb. 13, at Caleb Hitchcock Health Center in Bloomfield after a brief illness. Born in Danbury in 1919, son of Hamilton and Margarethe (Lepper) Orgelman, he attended Danbury public schools and was involved in many townwide activities, including becoming an Eagle Scout in Troop 2, the well-regarded unit led by his father. He was a serious and industrious student, saving money for college by delivering the Danbury News Times on a route with over 100 customers, at a time when weekly home delivery cost 21 cents, 18 cents for the paper and 3 cents for the carrier. He earned a scholarship to Yale's Sheffield College where in addition to his academic studies, he rowed crew, played hockey and learned about card playing, cocktail parties - and women. A 1940 graduate, he credited Yale with arming him with the skills that served for a lifetime, in all kinds of circumstances. He remained a dedicated alum, enjoying tailgating at football games and brunch at the Yale Club in New York until he was 90. After graduation he went to work for the Turner Construction Co. in Ashtabula, OH, where he met the love of his life, Lillian Hendricksen. Immediately following their marriage in 1943, he was drafted. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers in northern Japan, 70 miles from Sapporo. He later learned one of the reasons he received this assignment was because he knew how to ski, a handy skill in a region where annual snowfall routinely reached 10 to 12 feet. After the war he began work for Chance Vought in Stratford, CT, before being transferred to Dallas, TX, where for 6 years he was part of the excitement and innovation that characterized the aerospace industry in the 1950s. He returned to the northeast to begin work at General Precision Laboratory, later Singer Corp., and completed his career as vice-president of the executive search firm JR Akin and Co., in Fairfield, CT. He and Lillian lived in Stamford for over 50 years, while raising their daughter. Their home provided them a beautiful setting for the fabulous parties they became known for, and ample opportunities to go into New York, the Rainbow Room being one of their favorite destinations for a dinner dance. In 2003 they built their dream house in Viera, FL, and enjoyed the sunshine, flowers and bird watching together, until Lillian died in 2010. Once again he returned to his much loved state of Connecticut, and made his home near his niece, Marnie Cooper of Windsor. George was an historian and a storyteller, proud of his German heritage, and the stoic strength associated with it. He was a stickler for details and precision, which sometimes hid the humor and hi-jinks known to his family and close friends. He remained a gentleman to the very end. He is survived by his sister, Jean Cooper of Wellfleet, MA, his daughter and former son-in-law, Britta and Walter Kita, of Middletown, two grandchildren, and several other nieces and nephews. On a dance floor somewhere, with a Gershwin tune playing in the background, George and Lillian are once again dancing the night away.