George Russell Partlo

1938 - 2024

George Russell Partlo
Born: March 14, 1938
Died: September 5, 2024 in Marengo, IL
George Russell Partlo died on September 5, 2024 at age 86. He was born to Fay and Helga Partlo in Houghton, MI on March 14, 1938. Along with his sister, Ruth, and many cousins, he grew up surrounded by family, and the cooking, music, and stories of his Swedish American heritage.
George developed a love for photography and a knack for machinery at a young age. The family moved to Rapid City, SD while he was in high school, where he spent two years on the newspaper and yearbook staffs and worked in Jack's Camera Shop.
He graduated from South Dakota State College (now University) in 1961 with a BS in psychology. Immediately after graduation he joined the Navy and completed flight training in Pensacola, FL in 1962.
George met his wife to be, Jerrilynne, of Sioux Falls, SD, while singing in college choir. They married in 1962 and moved to Rhode Island where he was assigned to duty at Quonset Point flying A-1 Skyraiders. He served with a detachment assigned to an Army Intelligence Unit during the 1965 Dominican Republic civil war. He spent nine months flying off the USS Enterprise and also did deployments on the Intrepid, the FDR, and the Wasp to participate in the Gemini recoveries. He was released from active duty as a Lieutenant Senior Grade in 1966 and began flying for American Airlines. His career of 32 years started out of Nashville then continued out of Chicago, beginning as flight engineer and ending as captain on international flights. He flew Lockheed Electras, DC-10s, 727s, 767s, 757s, and he especially enjoyed flying the MD-11 across Europe and South America for about ten years before mandatory retirement.
George and Jerrilynne raised two daughters and opened their home to three year long exchange students, who all became part of the family.
The family lived in Tennessee and Illinois, moving to Marengo in 1982, where George enjoyed building his collection of military jeeps, machinery, and photography equipment. He was always ready with a story about how he came to find one treasure or another.
George was active in his church, Rotary for 41 years serving as District Governor 1999-2000, and a lifetime member of both the VFW and American Legion. In retirement, he and Jerrilynne enjoyed traveling extensively in their motor coach. Friends and family will remember his cooking, his many stories, and his boisterous laugh.
He is survived by his wife, Jerrilynne, his daughters Karin (Michael) Graddy, and Kristin (Karl Nelson) Partlo, his sister Ruth Partlo, sister-in-law Carol (Mark) Grommesh and their children, cousin Pat Summerfield, five grandchildren, and his extended family of Morten and Bettina from Denmark, Veronica from Sweden, and Swedish relatives who have enjoyed many years of vacationing together.
The memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Oct. 5, 2024, at St. John's Lutheran Church, Union, IL. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until time of service at the church. Lunch will follow the service. Following the church service, burial with a military honor presentation will be at 2 p.m. at McHenry County Memorial Park and Cemetery in Woodstock.
Memorials may be directed to St. John's Lutheran Church, Union IL for the Building Expansion Program or to your favorite charity.