George W. Bookless Jr.
George W. Bookless Jr.
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George W. Bookless Jr. Obituary
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3 Entries
Jennifer Bookless Stienstra
August 25, 2024
Sitting on the back porch at the West Street house listening to a thunderstorm roll in, the rumbling echo of the train rolling through town and the faint sounds of highway 20 is a core and cherished childhood memory. My brother and I would sit on the back porch with our parents and my dad (George jr) would imitate the call of a barn owl or a whippoorwill. In recent years, I enjoyed calling my dad from my back porch in Arizona and telling him about the birds that I have been discovering. He would sometimes hear a bird call that he didn't recognize and ask me to describe the bird.
My dad was very much like his own father (my grandfather) George sr who was a great storyteller. He would tell you about growing up in the suburban landscape of Chicago before the city reached out like it does today. He told stories about camping on the beaches of Mexico. He told us about living in Nigeria as a Peace Corps volunteer and his eventual return home. He told us stories about his experiences and the interesting people. He appreciated stories and recorded interviews with a number of people in Galena. He was deeply invested in the well being of others and cared very deeply for our family.
My dad enjoyed cooking meals from scratch and making dishes that he learned from his time in Nigeria like Miyar Gyada and Miyar dage dage. To this day, Miyar Gyada is my favorite birthday meal. I also learned to appreciate simple things like a fresh tomato sandwich on homemade bread in the summertime. My dad prepared food with a degree of care that would include pre-warming our dinner plates.
My father taught me from any early age that all politics are local. He participated in politics by supporting the Jo Daviess Democratic Party, by participating in local politics and serving as a city council member. He believed that democracy requires participation.
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Alexander Kerkhoven
July 30, 2024
When I was growing up, he was always my Papa. He was the kindest, wisest, and most inspirational person I've been fortunate enough to have in my life. Some of my fondest memories with him was whenever my sister and I would stay over at the house on Wight Street for dinner. We would come hours early just to be with our Nana and Papa to sit and visit with them on their front porch on warm summer evenings and their living room on stormy spring nights.
A notable thing about George was that he was an incredible story-teller. Even the most seemingly simple stories he would be able to narrate and make into the most interesting, memorable stories. Many of his tales would often be about his experiences in Nigeria while in the Peace core, his life growing up, and his interests in photography.
After visiting with them, Papa would get up and head to the kitchen where he had prepared rich, savory, and delicious meals that I would give anything to have again. Among the many I've loved, his Miyar Gyada, "peanut soup" in Housa, was one of my most cherished. He also made incredible roast beef in stews as well as soft yet crusty bread which I've tried so many times to replicate but have never been able to make to the quality he was able to achieve.
The memories I have of my Papa I hold extremely dearly. He, my Nana, my sister, and I would all have daytrips to Apple River Canyon and go to a creek where my sister and I would catch wild crawfish and take hikes with our Nana together. On the 4th of July, we would sit outside on the porch and catch fireflies in the street and backyards with our hands and show our Nana and Papa our yields. When my sister and I grew older and moved to Arizona, we always made a point to visit our grandparents and when possible always try to have an evening and dinner with them.
When thinking of things that I've gained from having my Papa in my life, a few in particular come to mind amongst the many. Between us enjoying the company of each other during waning sunsets in the evenings, I feel that he's taught me to appreciate the value that everything in my life has. Whether that be to respect every aspect of nature and what it provides or to find the silver lining out of a snarl of a situation, he was the one to help me. Growing up eating his suppers and meals, I've learned to appreciate and admire both food and cooking. If I could even become a fraction of what skills he had, I'd be content.
To say that I love my Nana and Papa would be putting it too concisely. If I were to pick my grandparents in any life, I would always always come back to them. They both helped raise me and shape who I am. I love George with all my heart and to have him in our family makes me grateful that he was the one to be here. I miss him so much. Despite not being particularly religious or spiritual, I believe that he's done so much good for the world and the people who he's met that he's bound to end up with his favorite cigar and cold beer appreciating whatever's after the world we live in.
Britha Mikkelsen
May 29, 2024
George was home from Knox College for some days in 1963 when I was an exchange student from Denmark and stayed for one year with the lovely Bookless family in Franklin Park. Walking along Franklin Av., George teasingly said: You dare not smoke a cigar, Britha! and pulled one out from his pocket. Sure enough - I smoked the cigar - but did not enjoy it.
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