George R. Vick

1930 - 2016

July 9, 1930 - September 30, 2016 George was born in Amarillo, TX to Dr. Lester Vick and his wife Ruby. George was shaped by growing up in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. After graduating from Amarillo High School, he attended Yale College, from which he graduated in 1953. After college, George travelled around Europe with close friends from Yale. As many who knew George can attest, those travels held a special place in his heart for all of his life. George eventually settled in Provence, where he studied as layman at a Dominican monastery before later returning to the United States and joining the Dominican Order. George spent seven years in the Dominican Order before ultimately deciding he was not called to be a priest. However, George remained a devout Catholic until his death and many of his closest friendships were made during his years in the Order. After leaving the Order, George studied for and received his Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Southern California. While there, he joined the faculty, began teaching, and met his wife Patricia. George left USC for California State University, Los Angeles, where he taught for 35 years and served as a Professor in the Philosophy Department. George greatly valued the camaraderie, professionalism and intellectual curiosity of his colleagues at CSULA. George also taught Philosophy and meditation at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. His academic and intellectual interests were eclectic, including Plato, Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis, Kant and Heidegger. Besides his love of philosophy and theology, George was also a movie and history buff. In the early 1970s, George and Patricia moved to Pasadena, where they raised their two sons, George Jr. and Kevin. George Sr. was a loving and devoted father. Despite a personal disinterest in musical theater and most sports, George Sr. steadfastly cheered on George Jr.'s many musical performances and Kevin's baseball, soccer, and football games. Kevin's fondest memories of his father, however, are the long talks the two of them had discussing religion, history, philosophy, literature, and politics. George is survived by Patricia, his wife of 49 years, his son Kevin and daughter-in-law Alexina, and his grandsons Charlie, Colin and Thomas. He will be dearly missed. A funeral mass will be held for George at St. Dominic's Catholic Church in Eagle Rock at 9 a.m. on October 8, 2016. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to AbilityFirst, http://www.abilityfirst.org/, an organization that greatly helped George's son George Jr. Cabot & Sons, Pasadena Directors