George Robert Register Jr.

REGISTER George Robert Register, Jr., 83, passed away Tuesday, August 5, 2008. Mr. Register was committed to the development of the city of Jacksonville, served his country in the Marine Corps and was devoted to his loving family. He was born in 1924 in Elizabeth, LA and moved to Jacksonville when he was six. Mr. Register is predeceased by his parents, George Robert Register, Sr. and Artie Ruth Register, son Bruce Edward Register and grandson Holland Douglas Splane. He is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of 64 years, Katherine Gray Register; his children George (Debra) Register, III, Nancy (Douglas) Splane, Douglas (Janine) Register, Mary Ellen Freda, Laura (John) Reinbold (Nashville, TN); his grandchildren Robert (Callie) Register, Rhett (Alice) Register, Rachel Register, Amelia Register, Jessica (Greg) Splane Veltkamp, Trevor Splane, Hadley Splane, Evan Freda, Brian Freda, Nicholas Freda, Amanda Reinbold, Emma Reinbold, Hannah Ruth Reinbold and John Henry Reinbold; great grandchildren Harriet Veltkamp, Griffin Veltkamp, Ryn Register and Cole Register and his sister Emily Register Norton. Mr. Register served as a Reserve Officer in the United State Marine Corps seeing active duty as a pilot in World War II and the Korean War. Mr. Register graduated from Andrew Jackson High School and the University of Florida. This was followed by a distinguished career as an engineer. As a principal in Register and Cummings and subsequent firms his many projects included redevelopment of Jacksonville's waterfront including Tallyrand and Blount Island port development and numerous other port projects. His firm designed the original Friendship Fountain, at the time the tallest fountain in the world. Mr. Register was President of the Jacksonville Jaycees. He served on the Board of Directors of University Medical Center (Shands) for 20 years; in his position as Treasurer he oversaw the hospital's $500 million expansion. He was a member of Riverside Presbyterian Church, an ordained deacon and elder; Rotary International; the Masonic Order; and an Eagle Scout from Troop 13 of the Boy Scouts of America. Services will be Friday, August 8, 2008 at 11 am at Riverside Presbyterian Church, 849 Park Street, Jacksonville, FL 32204. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the North Florida Council Boy Scouts of America, 521 S. Edgewood Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32205 or Shands Jacksonville Foundation for the trauma center, c/o Penny Thompson, 655 8th St., Jacksonville, FL 32209 Please Sign the Guestbook @ Jacksonville.com