FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. – George Ice passed away Jan. 10, 2012. He was born Oct. 20, 1930, in Tulsa, Okla.
George moved in 1942 to California, where his father worked in San Pedro shipyards and mother riveted planes at Douglas Aircraft. He attended Compton, Calif., elementary schools and graduated from Compton High School in 1949. Uncle Sam’s draft call for the Korean War interrupted George’s college endeavors, and his option to join the Air Force resulted in a two-year deployment to Guam as a radar operator followed by two years at Dow Air Force Base, Bangor, as a military claims inspector. On Guam, George explored the island, hiking through jungles, often encountering remnants of Japanese occupation. From Bangor, he traveled through New England and Eastern Canada, and took college classes at night. At University of Maine George met a lifelong mentor and friend, professor Vincent Hartgen, studying art/philosophy under his tutelage. George was a dynamic, adventurous man with an insatiable desire to seek knowledge through travel, books and education. After his discharge from the military, he married and under the GI Bill completed his Bachelor of Arts at California State University Long Beach and Master of Arts at University of San Francisco. He became a much admired teacher at South High, Torrance, Calif., 1961-1991, enticing students to appreciate the beauty and power of words and literature, and the necessity of thinking for one’s self. After retiring George continued traveling the world, sailing, taking classes and enjoying Maine summers on Branch Lake with family and friends.
He was predeceased by parents, Archie Ice and Gladys Katherin Jones; brother, Robert Layne; and sister, Barbara Nell McCoy. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Jane Sanborn; daughter, Valyrie Ice-Harder; son-in-law, William Harder; son, Jonathan; granddaughter, Amanda; brother, Alan Bruce; sisters, Lorena Meagher and Brenda Requiso; favorite sister-in-law, Rosemary Sanborn Robbins; brother-in-law, Donald Robbins; many nieces and nephews.
He has gone in peace to explore the regions beyond, leaving family and friends to love and cherish him eternally.