GEORGE VANDERGRIFT Obituary

Vandergrift, George A. was a sixteen year resident of Victor, Montana. He passed away on Friday, September 19, 2014 at St. Patrick Hospital.

George was born in Whittier, California on July 19, 1942 to George and Carmen Vandergrift. Raised in Fullerton, California, where he attended College and studied Geology. He worked for State Farm Insurance while attending Western State College of Law. After getting his law degree, he decided to go into business for himself.

In 1974, he started a successful business, Renco Sales located in Southern California. Renco Sales is a manufacturer representative for the plumbing industry. He was still an active part of the business after 40 years, working remotely from Montana. He was well respected and liked by the industry and will be missed.

He loved the mountain life in Montana and enjoyed hiking and being surrounded by nature. He planted many trees on his property that would show the fall colors. He was also an avid gardner with many successful harvests, shared by friends and family. He loved his cats, Amey and Foster and was a supporter of animal welfare. He loved Western and Indian art and enjoyed collecting painting and Indian baskets. He was also a season ticket holder and loved Grizzly football games along with tailgate parties with good friends. He loved his ice cream, especially Chocolate runs through it and Moose Tracks, a small bowl every night.

He received his private pilot's instrument rated license from the FFA and loved anything to do with aviation. He flew his Cessna 182 to Duck Creek, Utah and snowmobiled in to his remote cabin. He also flew his plane to several national parks which he loved to explore with his wife.

He is survived by his wife, Ronie of 26 years; his children Jamie, Matt, Sarah and Teresa; fourteen grandchildren; two great grandchildren; and his sisters, Julie and Janet. Many close friends all over the country along with long time business partners and associates.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in George's name to Ani-meals in Missoula Mt. or the Bitterroot Humane Society in Hamilton MT.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Orange County Register on Sep. 24, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for GEORGE VANDERGRIFT

Sponsored by The Orange County Register.

7 Entries

Jan Vandergrift

October 5, 2014

God bless Joe RIP.....

Brian Suriner

October 3, 2014

To the Vandergrift Family,

My deepest condolences. Worked with George for nearly 15 years. A real gentleman and mentor for many in the plumbing industry.

Rich Satkowski

September 30, 2014

You will be greatly missed, George. I'm happy I was your friend all those years.

Mike Hanley

September 24, 2014

George was always one of the Rep principals that we looked up to
and enjoyed being around. He always
had a great joke and an engaging
smile. We really enjoyed George
and will miss him very much
Sincerely, Mike Hanley + Pat Laux
M/R and Associates

Bob Vogel

September 23, 2014

I met George during our junior year at Fullerton Union High School.

I suppose most friendships begin with bits of common interest. It seemed that George and I shared an interest in science, photography, cars, culture, politics and that elusive thing called a `world view'. We sort of saw the world around us in the same way.

I guess if I had to pick a few words to describe George they would be adventurer and explorer.

He seemed to know places around Los Angeles and Orange County that the rest of never heard of. And stories, interesting stories about people and families. George could have written a book on the early days of Orange County. We would go to places in the cities, mountains and desert traveling on freeways or dirt roads guided by topographic maps from the USGS.

We climbed Mt. Whitney. George made it to the top. My legs and lungs gave out halfway up. He took me on a guided tour of the utility tunnels underneath Fullerton High School and Fullerton Junior College. And I won't forget when I went to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles for the first time with George and others to see guitarist Andres Segovia. And there was a night in San Francisco in 1966 when George and I and another person stumbled upon a rock concert by a little known group called Grateful Dead.

At Fullerton College George worked in the life sciences lab. One night we went up to Palmdale to trap Kangaroo rats for the collection at school. Of course now you would be fined and jailed for capturing protected species. Actually, a lot of what we did back then is now either illegal or politically incorrect. It was our good fortune to have lived at a time of such freedom and opportunity in America. And it was so much fun.

After the college years, we kept in touch and saw each other from time to time. I knew George had the `entrepreneurial spirit' in him. He studied geology and the law, but I think he loved selling and making deals most of all so was not surprised that he would end up with the sort of business success he had.

RIP George; and thanks for letting me drive your Corvette around Fullerton back in those good old days.

Bob Vogel

September 23, 2014

I met George during our junior year at Fullerton Union High School.

I suppose most friendships begin with bits of common interest. It seemed that George and I shared an interest in science, photography, cars, culture, politics and that elusive thing called a `world view'. We sort of saw the world around us in the same way.

I guess if I had to pick a few words to describe George they would be adventurer and explorer.

He seemed to know places around Los Angeles and Orange County that the rest of never heard of. And stories, interesting stories about people and families. George could have written a book on the early days of Orange County. We would go to places in the cities, mountains and desert traveling on freeways or dirt roads guided by topographic maps from the USGS

We climbed Mt. Whitney. George made it to the top. My legs and lungs gave out halfway up. He took me on a guided tour of the utility tunnels underneath Fullerton High School and Fullerton College. And I won't forget when I went to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles for the first time with George and others to see guitarist Andres Segovia. And there was a night in San Francisco in 1966 when George and I and another person stumbled upon a rock concert by a little known group called Grateful Dead.

At Fullerton College George worked in the life sciences lab. One night we went up to Palmdale to trap Kangaroo rats for the collection at school. Of course now you would be fined and jailed for capturing protected species. Actually, a lot of what we did back then is now either illegal or politically incorrect. It was our good fortune to have lived at a time of such freedom and opportunity in America. And it was so much fun.

After the college years, we kept in touch and saw each other from time to time. I knew George had the `entrepreneurial spirit' in him. He studied geology and the law, but I think he loved selling and making deals most of all so was not surprised that he would end up with the sort of business success he had.

RIP George; and thanks for letting me drive your Corvette around Fullerton back in those good old days.

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