Mary Gae George

1930 - 2018

May 4, 1930 ~ July 28, 2018
Mrs. George, a Utah resident since 1993, passed away at Cottage on Vine nursing home, in Murray Utah. She had suffered a series of strokes.
She was born in Seattle Washington, the daughter of Howard Ruskin Gaetz and Gwynnifred Ann Elizabeth Gaetz. Her parents were Canadian born. She had one brother, Roderick Ruskin Gaetz.
In her early years she developed a passion for ballet, and through that study, developed an even deeper passion for music. In 1948 she graduated from St. Margaret School for Girls in Connecticut, in 1952 she graduated from Yale University School of Music, with a bachelor's degree in piano and organ.
She began her career as a private piano teacher in 1949. As the years passed she also became involved in piano pedagogy. In 1965 she married Jon George, a gifted young composer. Mary Gae and Jon George together created the piano method, Artistry at the Piano. Its 18 published books remain in print, and are used by fine teachers internationally.
The state of Utah has been a beloved home to Mrs. George in the final decades of her life. For years, at her residence and studio in Sandy, she was embraced by neighbors and by numerous piano students. As her health declined, those neighbors and now former students became her closest friends, advocates, and helpers.
Mrs. George is survived by her daughter Jennifer Gae Fellows, born 1953, and by her nephews Kenneth Gaetz and Robert Gaetz. Robert and his wife Diane have a son John, born 2006.