George F. Gilmore

George F. Gilmore

Jul 18, 1921 – Jan 8, 2018

Survived by wife, Nancy; sons, Sam Gilmore (Amanda) and Joseph Gilmore (Brigid); four grandchildren.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, January 10th from 4pm to 6pm at the West Center Chapel.  Inurnment, Forest Lawn.  Celebration of Life to be held in the Spring.  Memorials to Omaha Home for Boys or Hattie B. Munroe Foundation.

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Born on July 18, 1921 in Omaha, Nebraska, George grew up in Omaha and attended Central High School.  He graduated in 1939 with a plethora of life-long, tight friends who regularly got together for dances and social activities.  They called themselves the 39’ers and were always very close.

George attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln where he joined Sigma Nu.  George made it through three years of engineering before World War II called him away to Europe.

He was shipped across the country and at one point was asked whether he wanted to study engineering or medicine; he chose engineering, so the Army in all its wisdom placed George in the infantry.  He fought all over the European theater and finally ended his tenure at the end of the War in Germany.  Along the way he received a Bronze Star for bravery in action, but he preferred to say it was just something stupid he did.  It took many years before he went back to Europe.

When he returned, he went to work in Omaha for his father’s construction company, Gilmore Construction, and started a long career in building construction.  Eventually, George was made President of the company and remained so until his retirement in 1986.  Gilmore Construction is responsible for scores of buildings and schools all over the Omaha area, including many facilities at the Omaha Home for Boys, one of his favorite charitable institutions.

Being a single gentleman upon his return from the war, he found time for several hobbies including two passions that he really enjoyed, hunting and golf.  Several of his golfing buddies organized themselves (loosely) into The Tigers.  They golfed quite often and had great times off the course as well.  George joined the Omaha Country Club.  He was always an entry in the Doctor Good Guy Tournament and the Sam Reynolds Tournament.  George also loved to hunt.  He was a fixture in Eastern Nebraska duck and goose blinds and hunted pheasant in South Dakota with the Governor of South Dakota.

And then he met Nancy.  They were introduced by mutual friends in 1958 and hit it off.  Nancy golfed.  She was, however, living in Manhattan, but a proposal from George changed all that.  They moved to a small, remote cottage in Ponca.  It was an idyllic setting for a single man and a hunter, but Nancy soon became pregnant with their son, Sam, and they moved to Dundee in Omaha.  Two years later, son Joe was born.

Along the way, George continued with his career and his family.  He learned to cross country ski, downhill ski, play tennis and of course, played golf.  He later would winter in Borrego Springs, CA where he made new friends and enjoyed the desert.

George was the President of Omaha Country Club, De Anza Borrego Country Club, The Associated General Contractors, and was on the Board of Directors of the Hattie B. Munroe Foundation and Conservative Savings and Loan.  He was asked to participate and serve because he was an honorable gentleman and always found simple solutions to complicated issues.  He was part of the Greatest Generation and was the reason that title so aptly fit.  Great businessman, great friend, great father and great husband—a life well lived!

The Quarter is for the Beer.

 

 

3 Comments

  • Anonymous Posted January 10, 2018 8:48 pm

    Gilmore family,
    Sorry for your loss.

  • Renee Fordyce-Boyer Posted January 11, 2018 9:00 pm

    Me Gilmore was so instrumental in the remodel of 2nd floor Hattie B. Munroe Pavilion into The Human Genetics Laboratory. I so enjoyed working with him. He was a great man. He will be missed.

  • clark bierma Posted January 18, 2018 12:20 pm

    To Joe and Sam. Sorry for your loss. My dad was next to yours at the funeral home,,wake and funerals same day,,,Blessing to you and your families,,,,, From the Bierma’s

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