George Geckle

1939 - 2025

George Leo Geckle III, 85, of Columbia, South Carolina, died on August 28, 2025. George was born in Danbury, Connecticut on Dec. 2, 1939. He grew up in Newtown, Connecticut, graduating in 1957 from Newtown High School, where he excelled in academics and drama, and played on the varsity basketball and soccer teams. He graduated from Middlebury College with a B.A. in English in 1961, and soon married his high school sweetheart, Justine (Judy) Carroll. George then enrolled in the University of Virginia, and their first son, Geordie, was born in Charlottesville in 1962. George earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia in 1965; later that year he took his first teaching post, as Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where their second son, Richard, was born. In 1968 George accepted an offer to teach at the University of South Carolina, where he became a full Professor in 1974. He remained at USC until his retirement.

George had a distinguished academic career. He published numerous books and articles, mostly in the field of Elizabethan drama, but also on James Joyce and other Irish writers. A particular focus earlier in his career was Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. Eventually he became deeply interested in the performance of plays, doing significant work in this area up to (and even beyond) his retirement in 2002. A seminal event was his sabbatical in Oxford in 1976. He worked happily in Oxford's renowned libraries, and he took his family to dozens of Shakespeare's plays via weekend bus rides to London. He relished seeing live performances of the finest actors of the day, and this love of theater, and his love of London, led to regular trips to England, where he enjoyed pubs, art galleries, and, of course, plays.

He was especially proud of being Chair of the English Department from 1978 to 1987, deftly managing the faculty and overseeing departmental programs. He was instrumental in producing the renowned USC Writers Series, which ran yearly from 1979 to 1985, featuring writers such as Kurt Vonnegut, Susan Sontag, and William Styron.

George had strong interests outside the academy, among them golf. He developed a love of the game during his childhood in Newtown, and he played on the Middlebury College golf team. A measure of his obsession with the game: At the University of Virginia he was a rare student member of the posh Farmington Country Club, an unusual haunt for a poor grad student. Once in Columbia, George played regularly and well, and in 1979 he joined Wildewood Country Club, where he and his family enjoyed decades of golf together. In his later years George played at a variety of other clubs, always retaining a deep love of the game. He and friends also attended many rounds of the Masters in nearby Augusta. His knowledge of the history of the game was formidable, and he often shared teenage memories of seeing Hogan, Snead, and other luminaries.

After his retirement and Judy's death, George married Shelley Smith, in 2006; he remained a resident of Columbia. In later life George traveled widely with Shelley, to London, France, New Zealand, and other locales. Together they enjoyed music and film and USC women's basketball, as well as leisurely lunches with friends at favorite spots in Columbia. In the last days of his life George spent a week at the beach on the South Carolina coast, a family tradition dating back fifty-six years to his arrival in the state in the late 1960s.

George was a gregarious, kind, and generous man, with a gift for friendship. He was devoted to friends and family and liable to quote Shakespeare on a whim. He loved supporting his children and grandchildren when they competed and performed, and until recently he attended a monthly poker game with university pals, on a few occasions surprising his children with portions of his winnings. In later years he participated in weekly lunch and dinner groups with friends.

George was predeceased by his wife, Justine (Judy) Carroll, and his parents, George and Dorothy Geckle. He is survived by his wife, Shelley Smith; his brother, Bob Geckle; his sons, Geordie Geckle and wife Mary Breci, and Richard Geckle and wife Nora Field; his grandchildren, Megan and husband Matthew Giebler, Helen Geckle, and Evie Geckle; and his great-granddaughter, Maggie Giebler.

A Catholic funeral mass will be celebrated on Saturday, September 6, at 11 a.m. at St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown, Connecticut. A burial will follow in Newtown Village Cemetery.

George was a cancer survivor, and the family would like to offer particular thanks to Dr. Lal and the 5th-floor infusion nurses at Lexington Medical Center. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Cyrenius H. Booth Library of Newtown, or to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.