Re: George W. Studebaker, 1923-2006
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In reply to:
George W. Studebaker, 1923-2006
Sharron Spencer 6/20/06
Hi Sharon, My condolences to you and your family.
I have posted it here as your father's obituary will be archived for your family and those who connect to your family.
George W. Studebaker
1923 - 2006
BOWIE -- George W. Studebaker, 83, a World War II veteran and retiree of Southwestern Bell Telephone, passed away Sunday, June 18, 2006, at a hospital in Wichita Falls due to complications of a stroke.
Funeral: 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Mount Olivet Chapel. Burial: Mount Olivet Cemetery. Visitation: 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mount Olivet Funeral Home.
George W. Studebaker was born Jan. 25, 1923, in the Pleasant Ridge community southeast of Bowie in Montague County. He was the second child of George Blaine Studebaker and Ethel Percilla Kidd Studebaker, who preceded him in death. Also deceased are one sister, Adaline Myers, and an older brother, Herbert Studebaker.
George descended from Peter Stutenbecker, who arrived in America in 1736 from Germany with two brothers and a sister. The Stutenbecker Blacksmith Shop was soon a successful business with the motto "Always give more than you promise" -- a motto that was still in use over 200 years later. They designed and built farm wagons and implements. Descendants later built covered wagons used by thousands of settlers who moved west in the 1800s, and their descendants later formed the Studebaker Corp.
George spent his youth on the family farm, graduated from Bowie High School, then proudly served our country in World War II. He entered the U.S. Navy on Dec. 1, 1943, serving as a seaman aboard the LSD Epping Forest and served in the Pacific theater under Adm. Nimitz. He saw action at Guadalcanal, New Hebrides Islands, Leyte, Philippines, Okinawa, Guam and Pelalu. He was also at New Guinea, Pearl Harbor and the Solomon Islands, crossing the equator 22 times during his service. George was discharged on Christmas Day 1945, returning home to the family farm. On June 14, 1947, George married Laverne Earp of Park Springs. He worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. in Fort Worth over 36 years. George was a farmer at heart. About 10 years before he retired, they bought a 220-acre farm west of Bowie in Clay County and moved there when he and Laverne retired in 1983. They lived there 15 years, then sold it and moved to Bowie, where they resided at the time of his death. He was a member of New Hope Baptist Church in Bowie.
Survivors: His wife of 59 years, Laverne Earp Studebaker of Bowie; daughter, Sharron Spencer and husband, Jerry, of Grapevine; brother, Cecil Studebaker of Raymond, Neb.; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Published in the Star-Telegram on 6/19/2006.