George Warren DeVore Jr.

George Warren DeVore April 29, 1924 - December 7, 2009

Returning home from the trenches of WWI, a young son of pioneers courted and married a sturdy woman of similar stock. He established a small metalsmithing business in Laramie, Wyoming, forging objects of function, from hunting knives to barn ventilators. In the spring of 1924, George W. DeVore, Sr. and Isabella Norene DeVore gave homebirth to the first of three sons and a daughter. George Warren DeVore, Jr. came of age in Depression Era Laramie, where water was cold and hand-pumped, fuel was chopped and hunting was not considered recreational. As a young man, George was expected to contribute to the family larder. He jacked Montana timber in the summers and attended his chores and education during the three winters of a Wyoming year. His enlistment in the Army Air Corps brought him his first exposure to a world outside of the majestic, but harsh, Rocky Mountain west. He served as a tail and ball-turret gunner in bombers out of New Guinea; participating in McArthur's island-hopping campaign into the Philippines and spending a year in occupied Japan. Though war stories he told were limited to humorous events, in his final days he reflected thoughtfully on fallen comrades not afforded the long life he enjoyed. He returned home and took advantage of his GI benefits, completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Wyoming and his Doctoral work at the University of Chicago, where he earned his PhD in geology. While working on his dissertation, he met and married the only girl he ever loved, the Mainline Philadelphia-bred daughter of a British-American and his Yankee bride. George and Jean Marie (Bowen) DeVore spent the first months of their honeymoon camping on the hard ground of the west while he conducted research for his dissertation (an activity in which she, never again, wished to participate). George DeVore soon became a professor of geology of the University of Chicago and established a family home in the suburb of Homewood. There, he started his family with the birth of his son and daughter. After several years, a blossoming university in the south came courting. A decade after going co-ed, Florida State University, determined to become a premier institute of research and academics, enticed some of the greatest scholars in the arts and sciences to uproot and gather in the small town of Tallahassee, Florida. George was proud to be a part of an era when the University stressed education and research. He served as Chairman of the Department of Geology, retiring in 1991. He conducted much-published research, saw the establishment of the Antarctic Core facility at FSU and guided students from freshman to Doctoral candidates. There are many graduates who fondly recall his unique style of instruction and credit him with founding their successful careers. In 1989, the untimely passing of his beloved wife cut short the golden retirement years for which she had frugally planned and invested. Ever faithful to their 37 years together, he turned his attention to his grandchildren, affording them wonderful experiences in world travel and the benefit of many happy years in his company. There is hardly a nation on this earth that he has not visited, often with his grandkids in tow. His exposure to wonders and friendships around the world instilled a great understanding and respect for all cultures and environments. He loved music, though he couldn't hum a tune. He loved art, though he never stained a canvas. He appreciated the natural world and was active in its preservation. He was frugal in his habits, yet spent lavishly on others. He was humble in character, yet firm in his convictions. He was liberal in his beliefs, yet conservative in his ways. He was patriotic, yet appreciated the whole world. He was gracious and giving, yet suffered neither fools nor nonsense. He took advantage of opportunities, not people. He was, quite simply, the finest of men.

Those still benefiting from his legacy include his dear sister, Elizabeth Carol "Younger" DeVore of Houston, Texas. (Born 20 years his junior, she recently graduated into the ministry in the Methodist Church), a son, Jeffrey Steven DeVore and wife, Sharon Tedora (Leonard) DeVore, his daughter, Carol Kimberly (DeVore) Shafer and her husband Gregory L. Shafer, and his five grandchildren: Christopher, Tedora and Raleigh DeVore and Kathryn and Robin Shafer, all of Tallahassee. His brother, Harold DeVore of Denver, Colorado had recently passed in January of this year.

Arrangements through Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home (850-877-8191) include a 6 to 8 p.m. EST Thursday evening greeting of family and friends at their Timberlane facility and a graveside service on Friday at 11 a.m. EST at the Roselawn Cemetery on Piedmont Drive. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to the charity of your choice.