Georgia Storm Claessens

1955 - 2016

Georgia Storm Claessens

1955-2016

Georgia Ann Claessens (Storm) passed away on February 27, 2016 following a horse riding accident at age 60. She died in a tragic accident doing what she loved - riding with the wind. Her final days were spent surrounded by family and friends. She will be dearly missed.

Georgia was born to parents Walter and Lisa Storm in Los Angeles, California on November 22, 1955, the fourth of five children. Georgia lived most of her life in Rolling Hills, California, first moving there with her family in 1956. She began horse riding at age two, and she and her sisters (known to many as the Storm girls) had a robust life riding competitively in the English riding world jumping hunters and jumpers and competing in California and the East Coast. She never stopped riding, participating in Jumper classes at the HITS Desert Circuit only two weeks before her passing.

After graduating from Miraleste High School Georgia went on to UC Santa Barbara. At UCSB she was a member of the Gauchos legendary 1972-74 women's volleyball team that advanced to the semifinals at the AIAW National Championship Tournaments in three consecutive occasions. She and her teammates were inducted into the UCSB Gaucho Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. Georgia continued to play competitive beach volleyball for many years after she graduated.

In the early 1980's Georgia met and married Dominique Claessens VIII, and they moved to Holland together where they lived for 5 years. In 1988 Georgia and Dominique returned to the Palos Verdes Peninsula to raise their children in a childhood that mirrored Georgia's own, and eventually had four children together. She lived the rest of her life in Rolling Hills.

In 1991 Georgia started Mulligan Family Fun Center in Torrance, a family centered place of fun for so many in our community. Mulligan has since grown to three locations (including Palmdale and Murrieta). Georgia was an accomplished businesswoman – in addition to Mulligan she owned a landscape company, participated as a Board member at Storm Industries, and was an active participant in several other businesses.

Georgia leaves behind a family that she loved deeply: daughters Fontine, Gemma, and Celine Claessens, son Dominique Claessens IX, Fontine's husband Stephen Garcia, and sisters Alexandra Storm, Claudia Storm Grzywacz, and Elizabeth Storm McGovern (a fifth sister, Paula Storm predeceased her). Georgia also leaves behind a large extended network of family and friends who were near and dear to her heart but are too numerous to list.

Georgia was a thrill seeker, an athlete, an adventurer, a traveler, a risk taker, a go-getter, and an entrepreneur. She loved anything with adrenaline, and approached everything with full force. And if you were willing, she loved to take you right along with her, always ensuring that "everything will be fine..." Her idea of "vacation" was bicycling 60 miles a day through France, or heli-skiing every year in Canada, or spending 6 days on her own hiking through the Sierra mountains. Whatever adventure she was on, she lived it to the fullest, always with a smile on her face.

She loved bicycling (she completed the 525 mile AMGEN Classic from San Francisco to Los Angeles and the Courage Classic in Colorado), loved skiing, loved the outdoors, loved traveling, but more than anything, she lived to be on a horse. Whether she was galloping at 35 mph across the fields of Ireland fox hunting, soaring sky high over monstrous jumps at a frightening pace, or herding cattle at the ranch, she loved the power and thrill of these beautiful animals. And she was absolutely superb at it. Everyone says there was no horse she couldn't ride, and even with the wildest of ones, she made it look so easy.

She was so proud of her life and her accomplishments, but what she was most proud of was being a mom and she raised four kids with such grace, and such love, and such generosity, it's hard to imagine a better mom. She was always there when they needed her, but gave them the strength to stand on their own. She gave them courage and poise and a sense of adventure.

But her capacity to love stretched beyond our family. She was nothing if not generous. Many of you reading this today that knew her have felt her helping heart. What she was best at giving, though, was her friendship and contagious love for life. Ever giving even after death, per her wishes her organs were donated so others may continue their adventure.

A memorial service will be held at Green Hills Mortuary in Rancho Palos Verdes on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 10:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in Georgia's memory to Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Please make checks out to: Peninsula Committee Children's Hospital (or PCCH), P.O. Box 801, Palos Verdes Estates, CA, 90274 (please include Georgia Claessens name in the check memo). Please sign the guestbook at www.dailybreeze.com/obits.