1923
George
2014
George Kendall
November 30, 1923 — October 10, 2014
George Willis Kendall, 90, of Amarillo died October 10, 2014.
Graveside Service will be held at 3:00 PM, Thursday, October 16, 2014 in Llano Cemetery Mausoleum Chapel with Mr. Glen Walton officiating. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 South Georgia.
George Willis Kendall was born Nov 30, 1923 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to George Dwight Kendall and Josephine McCrory. The family moved to Amarillo Texas when he was 3 years old. He attended elementary school in Amarillo and high school at a private catholic school that was named Price College.
He attended west Texas state teachers college in Canyon for two years until he was drafted into the U.S. Army.
George entered the U.S. Army in 1943 assigned to the Signal Corp. He was sent to Camp Crowder in Missouri for his basic training from there he was stationed at Indian Gap, Pa; Camp Gordon, Ga; Seattle, WA and lastly to Orlando Fla. His main duties were to keep communications going by climbing telephone poles and stringing the wiring to ensure no breaks in the lines.
George traveled by rail coast to coast more than once while serving his country.
After his discharge in1946 he returned to Amarillo and finished his degree at West Texas.
Dallas Mortuary College was his next adventure in his education. He served a two year apprenticeship in Lubbock and Corpus Christi, Texas before working in funeral homes in Ft. Worth and Dallas.
George retuned to Amarillo to help his aging father in their family drug store on east 10th until a fire ended the business. He then became the care giver for his mother and father until their death.
After his mother’s death in1987 he married the love of his life Annie Ethel Litle. They enjoyed each other till her death in 2012. They had no children of their own just Annie's daughters who loved George very much.
Donna one of Annie's daughters recalls knowing him for over45 years. He was a very kind and loving man.
He was a member of San Jacinto Church of Christ.
His hobbies were weight lifting and he was very proud of his upper body strength because he had polio as a young man and his lower body did not develop correctly.
He received his black belt rank of shodan in August of 1979. You could always see George at the Muscle Mill Gym with the wrestlers associated with the National Wrestling Association in the 50s and 60s in Amarillo. George always said he had been working out with weights for over 60 years consistently and it gave him strength and stamina to keep going
George could sit down at the piano and play almost anything you asked him to play by heart. He often played at the Masonic Lodges before their meetings. He was a member in good standing of the Masons since 1948. He was a 50 year member of the Amarillo York. He was a past High Priest of Amarillo Chapter No.196 Royal Arch Masons, a Past Thrice Illustrious Master of Amarillo Council Royal and Select Masters. He was past Commander of Amarillo Commander No.48 Knight's Templar. He received his 60 year service pin in 2010 from Lodge 1239.
George had no brothers or sisters. The nursing home staff and the women and men on the second floor were his main family for the last 12 years along with his wife Annie who visited him often until her death. Annie's daughter Donna and her husband Larry visited and kept him supplied with his clip on ties.
Many thanks to the VA nursing staff and the staff chaplains, especially Rev John Esler. We appreciate how James Taylor ,PA, took care of George for many years and Amber,PA,the last few days of his life.
Graveside Service will be held at 3:00 PM, Thursday, October 16, 2014 in Llano Cemetery Mausoleum Chapel with Mr. Glen Walton officiating. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 South Georgia.
George Willis Kendall was born Nov 30, 1923 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to George Dwight Kendall and Josephine McCrory. The family moved to Amarillo Texas when he was 3 years old. He attended elementary school in Amarillo and high school at a private catholic school that was named Price College.
He attended west Texas state teachers college in Canyon for two years until he was drafted into the U.S. Army.
George entered the U.S. Army in 1943 assigned to the Signal Corp. He was sent to Camp Crowder in Missouri for his basic training from there he was stationed at Indian Gap, Pa; Camp Gordon, Ga; Seattle, WA and lastly to Orlando Fla. His main duties were to keep communications going by climbing telephone poles and stringing the wiring to ensure no breaks in the lines.
George traveled by rail coast to coast more than once while serving his country.
After his discharge in1946 he returned to Amarillo and finished his degree at West Texas.
Dallas Mortuary College was his next adventure in his education. He served a two year apprenticeship in Lubbock and Corpus Christi, Texas before working in funeral homes in Ft. Worth and Dallas.
George retuned to Amarillo to help his aging father in their family drug store on east 10th until a fire ended the business. He then became the care giver for his mother and father until their death.
After his mother’s death in1987 he married the love of his life Annie Ethel Litle. They enjoyed each other till her death in 2012. They had no children of their own just Annie's daughters who loved George very much.
Donna one of Annie's daughters recalls knowing him for over45 years. He was a very kind and loving man.
He was a member of San Jacinto Church of Christ.
His hobbies were weight lifting and he was very proud of his upper body strength because he had polio as a young man and his lower body did not develop correctly.
He received his black belt rank of shodan in August of 1979. You could always see George at the Muscle Mill Gym with the wrestlers associated with the National Wrestling Association in the 50s and 60s in Amarillo. George always said he had been working out with weights for over 60 years consistently and it gave him strength and stamina to keep going
George could sit down at the piano and play almost anything you asked him to play by heart. He often played at the Masonic Lodges before their meetings. He was a member in good standing of the Masons since 1948. He was a 50 year member of the Amarillo York. He was a past High Priest of Amarillo Chapter No.196 Royal Arch Masons, a Past Thrice Illustrious Master of Amarillo Council Royal and Select Masters. He was past Commander of Amarillo Commander No.48 Knight's Templar. He received his 60 year service pin in 2010 from Lodge 1239.
George had no brothers or sisters. The nursing home staff and the women and men on the second floor were his main family for the last 12 years along with his wife Annie who visited him often until her death. Annie's daughter Donna and her husband Larry visited and kept him supplied with his clip on ties.
Many thanks to the VA nursing staff and the staff chaplains, especially Rev John Esler. We appreciate how James Taylor ,PA, took care of George for many years and Amber,PA,the last few days of his life.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of George Kendall, please visit our flower store.