George Wardlaw

1927 - 2019

George Melvin Wardlaw, 92, died at home on Friday morning, July 26th, after courageously battling prostate cancer for three years.

He was born at home in Baldwyn, Mississippi on April 9, 1927, and resided there until 1945. He was the son of Wiley and Lillie (Tapp) Wardlaw.

George attended Baldwyn High School until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1945. He graduated from Hospital Corp School in San Diego, California, and in 1946, he received an honorable discharge, at which time he moved back to Baldwyn. In 1947, he enrolled at the Memphis Academy of Arts on the GI Bill, where he graduated with a BFA in 1950. In 1952, he started teaching metal working at the University of Mississippi. He continued teaching there while he also attended Ole Miss until he received his MFA in 1955. He then went on to teach at Louisiana State University in 1955, the State University of New York in New Paltz from 1956-1963, Yale University from 1964-1968, and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst beginning in 1968, where he was the Chairman of the Art Department from 1971-1988. He then advised graduate students until he retired in 1990. During the summers from 1951 to 1964, George was the director of the metal crafts program at Tripp Lake Camp in Poland, Maine. While at SUNY New Paltz, he met the love of his life, Judy Spivack, and they were married in 1957.

Throughout his lifetime, George's metal work, paintings, and sculptures were exhibited in many museums and galleries, including the Betty Parsons Gallery, the Allan Stone Gallery, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the National Gallery in Washington DC, the Memphis Brooks Museum, and the Courthouse Gallery in Maine. He was also commissioned to create large scale installations for the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee and the Johnson Wax Corporation in Racine.

During retirement, George actively continued his career as an artist. He was passionate about his work which he continued until the very end. His most recent work will be shown at Herter Gallery at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, opening on September 25th. He also spent time caring for and playing with his grandchildren, who called him Papa George. As they grew, he attended as many of their musical, artistic, and athletic events as possible. He loved and supported his family and the arts and found interesting visual experiences wherever he went, enjoying the interaction of colors, textures, patterns, and shapes in his environment.

George was a devoted husband, son, father, father-in-law, grandfather, and friend. He was greatly loved and respected by all who had the good fortune of knowing and working with him. Everyone especially enjoyed his storytelling, sense of humor, and ability to remain positive, which served him until his final days. Family and friends describe him as creative, intelligent, inspirational, hard-working, ambitious, insightful, dedicated, generous, positive, equitable, welcoming, gentle, sweet, kind, and caring.

George is survived by his son Greg Wardlaw of Pelham, his wife Darlene, and their children Nate, Chris, and Virginia, his daughter Sarah Hodgkins of Amherst, her husband Donny and their children Jason, Daniel, and Jennifer, and his son Steven Wardlaw of Amherst, his wife Anna-Stina, and their children Zoe, Sam, and Isabel. His wife, Judy Spivack Wardlaw, died in 2008. His sister, Alice Marie, died at birth.

The family wishes to thank the doctors and nurses at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, VNA/Hospice of Cooley Dickinson Hospital, O'Connell Home Care, and the Douglass Funeral Home for their care and support. We also want to express our sincere gratitude to Lori Friedman and Kelsi Giguere for enabling him to realize his final paintings.

A private graveside ceremony was held at Wildwood Cemetery on July 30th. A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the George M. Wardlaw Art Department Scholarship, c/o Julie Martel, Records and Gift Processing, Memorial Hall, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 134 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003.

Memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com