George U. Nystrom

George Uuno Nystrom, 83, of Plymouth, MA and formerly of Belmont and Waltham, MA, passed away peacefully at his home on January 10, 2024, surrounded by his loving family. George is survived by his wife of five years, Diane Coyne of Plymouth: his children, Dr. Ingrid Allardi (Steven) of Wrentham, MA and Erik Davin Nystrom (Shannon) of Wake Forest, NC; his grandchildren Alex and Isabel Allardi and Cameron and Claire Nystrom; and his brother Phillip Nystrom of Arundel, ME. He is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. George is preceded in death by his beloved wife Judith M. Nystrom of Belmont (d. 2009).
George was born on April 15, 1940, in Weymouth, Massachusetts. His father was a shipfitter and George grew up working around boats. In 1957 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and served for eight years. George had a long and distinguished career as an Astrophysical Engineer for the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He started his career as part of the team responsible for taking the first-ever x-ray images of the sun. He ended his career as a lead engineer on the Greenland Telescope Project. His contributions to this project were essential in capturing the first images of a black hole. As a member of The Event Horizon Telescope team, George and his colleagues across the globe were awarded the Breakthrough Physics Award in 2019. George loved his work and continued to consult on the Greenland Telescope Project up until the time of his death.
Known affectionately as "The Viking" to all those who loved and adored him, George was a kind, gentle, thoughtful man who loved sailing, golf, traveling with his wife, and spending time with his family. George cherished vacations with his children and grandchildren at their family homes in Nova Scotia and Plymouth. He liked to play cribbage and horseshoes and to celebrate with big family dinners. George was gracious and humble and will be dearly missed by the many friends, colleagues, and family members he leaves behind.
A Celebration of Life will be held on his birthday weekend, Sunday, April 14, with a Memorial Mass at 11:30 at St Bonaventure Church, 799 State Road, Plymouth, and also a Reception and Celebration of Life from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Great Island Overlook Clubhouse, 149 Great Island Road, Plymouth. Friends and relatives are welcome.
George's immediate family wishes to thank the kind doctors and nurses at the MICU at Tufts Medical Center in Boston and the nurses and staff from Beacon Hospice and Celtic Angels who provided so much care in compassion in the final days of George's life journey. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in George's name may be made to the National Kidney Foundation or the Ehlers-Danlos Society.
Cremation has taken place. Cartmell-Davis Funeral Service of Plymouth is serving the Nystrom family.