George Stulb

George M. Stulb WASHINGTON, D.C. - Born March 17, 1923, George M. Stulb bid final farewell to his family and shipmates June 2, 2010. He was 87. Stulb was preceded in death by his wife, the love of his life, Eleanor Knuck Stulb of North Augusta, S.C. and his siblings, Charlie, Mary, Ceil, Sarah and Jeanne. He is survived by his sister, Margie Ruli and her husband Jack of New Orleans, La., and his children and grandchildren, George M. Stulb Jr., his wife Sharon, and their children, Ryan and Melanie of Springfield, Pa.; Theresa Stulb Lester, her husband Gerald and their son, Eric of Belvedere, S.C.; William K. Stulb, his wife Marilyn and their daughters, Eleanor Anne and Genevieve of Suffolk; Mary Stulb Murphy, her husband Lee and their children George, Megan, Erin and Caitlin of Virginia Beach; Charlie S. Stulb, his wife Terri and their children Drury and Mary Hallahan of League City, Texas; Patricia Stulb Roberts and her husband J. Stephen Sr. of Williamsburg, Va. Stulb lived a full life and he was many things: son, brother, sailor, cabinetmaker, husband, father, uncle, friend, teacher, grandpa and he touched many lives along his path. He was born and raised in Augusta, Ga., and discovered his gift of woodworking as a student at the Academy of Richmond County. He shared this gift with family, friends and community throughout his life, creating everything from elegant built-in bookshelves to quaint fireplace benches to exquisitely designed and crafted heirloom furniture pieces - legacy items that will be treasured for generations. Although a resident of Augusta, when the weather turned warm he could almost always be found at Getzen's Pond in North Augusta, S.C. For most of his life, he lived with an a unabashed love for that classic swimming hole, playing and teaching there, helping maintain it for future generations and always sharing it with his family and friends. The Navy was his first career. He served the aviation community for the duration of his time in uniform, first patrolling the Caribbean in World War II as an aircrewman in PBY sea planes, then with the scout plane detachment in USS Portsmouth (CL-102) and ultimately in carrier-based fighter squadrons until retirement from VF-31 in 1965. Upon retiring from the Navy, he settled his well traveled family in North Augusta, became active with his children and in the community. During this first retirement, he continued his relationship with the outdoors and activities, in and around the water, spending countless days skiing and nights camping with his wife and family on the lake at Clarks Hill. He earned a bachelor's degree in education from Georgia Southern University in 1974, then began his second career as a shop and industrial arts teacher. He loved working with the students and was very active in the life of his schools, especially as a sponsor for the bands at Aiken Junior High School and South Aiken Senior High School. He retired from teaching in 1988. He planned for his second retirement to be an active one and he made good on most of those plans. He and his wife Eleanor skied many of the mountains in Colorado together. After she passed, he pressed on, sometimes alone but always welcoming anyone who could keep up. He relished the simple act of presenting his driver's license at the ticket window for ever deeper discounts and finally being able to ski for free when he turned 70. His other passion was scuba diving and he was one of the oldest and most active members of the Neptune Dive & Ski Club well into his 70's. He made his mark in his way and those who got to know him will always remember "Stub" as a good man, a man who gave of himself as he was - no pretense, no embellishment. ADCS George M. Stulb (U.S. Navy retired) served his country faithfully for 25 years beginning at age 17. He spent his last few weeks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he was cared for with great respect, compassion and professionalism. While there he knew he was in the company of the current generation of warriors, many of them struggling to recover from serious injuries sustained in their service to the country and its freedom. In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation in his memory to the Wounded Warrior Foundation, www. woundedwarrior.org. The family will receive friends June 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Road, Augusta, GA 30907, (706) 364-8484. A graveside service will be held at Magnolia Cemetery June 8 at 10 a.m. A guestbook may be signed on the site www. thomaspoteet.com.