George J. GORRELL

GORRELL, George J.
George Joseph Gorrell, 96, of North Highlands passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family following a brief illness.

George was born on January 29, 1915 in Blackwater, Missouri, the third child of Joseph Norman and Matilda Davey Gorrell. He grew up with his three sisters, Bertha, Ada May, and Claire, attending schools in Webb City, Missouri and graduating from Webb City High School in 1932.

He worked assorted delivery and mechanic jobs over the next few years, moving to California in 1940, where he attended an aircraft repair school in Glendale, specializing in hydraulics, and secured a job at McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento.

George was a U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, serving in England, where he repaired military aircraft.

After the war, he returned to McClellan, where he spent his entire 35-year career, retiring in 1977. In 1951, he met and married Thelma Marie Nilsen at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Together, they raised four sons and one daughter. He and Thelma were charter members of St. Stephens Presbyterian Church in North Highlands. He was a longtime volunteer, serving in various capacities, of the Sacramento Society for the Blind.

He is survived by his spouse of nearly sixty years, Thelma; five children, Norman (Lisa) of Martinez; Stanley (Valerie) of Grass Valley; Allen (Joyce) of North Highlands; Sylvia Marmon (Kent) of Caldwell, Idaho; and Brian (Patricia) of Shingle Springs; eleven grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.

A Memorial Service is scheduled for Sunday, March 6, 2011 at 10:30 A.M. at St. Stephens Presbyterian Church, located in the multi-purpose room at Center High School, 3111 Center Court Lane in Antelope.