George H. Decker

George H. Decker, 93, of Fairfax, VA died December 7th, 2011 at home. He was born December 10, 1917 in Fargo, North Dakota to the late Robert Earle and Hanna Decker. Robert was not present for the birth because he was serving in the Army in France during WWI. George lived in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin in his early years and graduated from high school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota before heading to the western side of the state where he earned a Civil Engineering degree from the South Dakota School of Mines in 1939. While in college, he joined the National Guard and upon graduation, he worked at a CCC camp in Sturgis, South Dakota for 18 months. His Army division mobilized on February 14, 1941 and they moved from Rapid City to Camp Claiborne in Louisiana. George attended Officer Candidate School at Ft. Belvoir in Washington, DC, where he met his future wife in the spring of 1942. After a duty station at Camp Rucker, Alabama, his unit was called to the west coast to prepare for deployment to the Pacific. When Madelyn stepped off the train after a cross country trip to visit for Thanksgiving, he knew he had to keep her so he proposed and they were married in December, 1943 and settled temporarily in Moro Bay, California. George served with the 81st division of the Army in the Pacific Theater and supported troops in the battle at Peleliu, and was serving in the Philippines on V-J Day. At the conclusion of the war, he spent time in Japan before returning home to meet the daughter who was born during his war duty. He and Madelyn went on to have 4 more children as they moved from South Dakota to Massachusetts, New York and Virginia while he worked for the Soil Conservation Service in the Department of Agriculture. During those years, he enjoyed showing his wife and children the US (and 1 trip to Quebec) – taking frequent camping trips to explore the country. After he retired in 1974, he indulged his passion for photography by working for the Catholic Herald and the Red Cross, photographing and printing photos for publication. Most recently, George was a member of VFW Blue and Gray Post 8469. George was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Madelyn L. Decker. She died in 2001. In 2003, after a 60 year lapse, he renewed a romance with an Army nurse he had met at Camp Rucker and for the next 6 years, he had a long-distance "girlfriend", Helen Martin. When not traveling between Ohio and Virginia, they spent many days with a mid-afternoon "brew time" – a telephone call while George drank a beer and Helen enjoyed a glass of wine. Helen passed away in 2009, just before her 90th birthday. George is survived by his children, Mary (Dan) Dent, Joan (Charlie) Cooper, Bob (Mary Sue) Decker, George (Anne) Decker and Patti (Rick) Pfeiffer. He was also a loving grandpa to 19 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. He is survived by his sisters-in-law and their husbands, Ann (Ray) Deslandes and Rosemary (Ed) Hahn and preceded in death by in-laws – Ruth (Carl) Trabert, Ellie (Bill) Bowen, Jimmy (Helen) Leimberger and Lou (Bill) Dengler - all of Rochester, NY. In lieu of flowers, George requested that donations be made to the Oglala Lakota College in Rapid City, South Dakota or to another charity of the donor's choice.