Peter Nicholas George Jr. 's Obituary
Celebrating the life of Peter N. George, Jr. Born on April 21, 1928 in Honolulu, Hawaii where he lived until he moved to Pearl City in 1970. His parents were Peter and Hannah George. He was the last of ten children. He attended Puuhale Elementary, Kalakaua Intermediate, and Farrington High School.
He had various jobs over his lifetime. In his younger days, he would walk from Kalihi where he lived to Bethel Street to shine shoes. He gave his money to his mother. He worked for Hawaiian Pine where he was on the company’s barefoot football team. He also worked for Weyerhaeuser.
In 1956, he got a job at Hawaii Housing Authority as a maintenance worker. While employed there, he learned various skills such as plumbing, masonry, house painting, electrician, carpentry, and welding. He retired in July 1990 after serving 34 years.
Before and after retirement, he utilized the skills that he learned as a maintenance man to do simple home repairs for family and friends, one of whom owned a trucking yard (a favorite hangout). He built the second floor to his own house mostly by himself! He also enjoyed woodworking and built as many as 200 wooden stools, which he sold or gave away. He did yard work for people who hated or couldn’t do it.
Peter also enjoyed Hawaiian music. He played the ukulele and guitar. He liked singing Hawaiian songs. He liked the old time music such as Sons of Hawaii, Hui Ohana, and more. In recent times he became a fan of Na Palapalai. Occasionally he enjoyed jazz—Les Paul was his favorite jazz guitarist.
He was married to Leila George for 54 years. They had four children: Tracy, Kimberly, Jeffrey and Stuart. His son-in-law was Tim Swartz. He had five grandchildren: Janet, Cheryl, John, and Leilani. The newest additions to the family are Jodie and Rylah-Ann Watanabe.
Peter was known as a very caring and loving man. He looked after everyone’s children. When a kid was old enough to talk, he would say to the kid, “What’s your name?” When the kid was old enough to read and spell, he would ask the kid, “How do you spell CAT?” When the kid spelled the word correctly, he would say, “No, that’s not right. It’s R-A-T!” If a kid was well behaved, he would tell the kid, “Here, Papa got dollar for you.” He would reach into his pocket and hand out money. Sometimes it was his wife who passed out the money. One of his famous lines for misbehaved kids was, “You want the stick?” He rarely used it. One day, his granddaughter Leilani hid his stick under the sofa. When he wanted to “use” it on her, she laughed and said, “You can’t get the stick because you can’t reach it. You can’t bend down to get it!” She was right. Peter was not a flexible man who could easily kneel down comfortably next to the sofa and stretch his hand to reach for the stick. If a kid stayed home with him and Leila, he would ask the kid, “What—no school?”
Peter was also known as someone who would give you the shirt off his back. He opened his home to those who needed help. When people came to visit him, he would say, “EAT!”
What’s your fondest memory of Peter ?
What’s a lesson you learned from Peter ?
Share a story where Peter 's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Peter you’ll never forget.
How did Peter make you smile?