Dannie Ellis George, 81, was born March 24, 1935
at West Shady Grove community and died on November 14, 2016. He was a resident of Jacksonville, Texas.
He was the elder son of Fred H. George and Grace Virginia Ezell George, both of whom preceded him in death. Dan was married to the
former Marilyn Singley of Tyler,Texas for 59 years.
Dan attended New Hope School and graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1953. He was a
Distinguished Military Graduate from Texas A&M University in 1957 with a B.S.
Degree and
completed a Master’s Degree from the University of North Dakota in 1972. He also completed
extensive Graduate studies in History at the American University in Washington D.C. and in
Business Administration
at Northwestern Louisiana University in Natchitoches.
Dan received a Regular Army Commission from Texas A&M and served for more than 20 years in the U.S. Army as an infantryman, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. While in the
Army,
he attended several military schools and had assignments in Germany, Ft. Bragg,
N.C., Fort Benning, Ga., North Dakota, South Korea, two years in Vietnam, and Ft. Polk. Col.
George served numerous staff
assignments and commanded infantry units at Platoon and
Company levels and served as Acting Battalion Commander and Task Force Commander in
combat.
Col. George received several awards which included the Silver Star,
Distinguished
Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, three awards of the Air Medal (one for
Valor), and two Army Commendation Medals (one for Valor) and the Combat Infantry Badge.
After military
retirement, Dan owned Niche-in-Time Antiques in Anacoco.
Dan was active in community activities as a member and President of the Tourism Commission of the Vernon Parish Chamber of Commerce. He owned D&E Industrial Supply in
Shreveport.
After retiring to the Jacksonville area, he was a member and Director of the Jacksonville Kiwanis
Club. He served as a Director and as President of the Board for Craft-Turney Water Supply
Corporation. He
was a member of Pierce’s Chapel Methodist Church and served as Lay Leader
for several years.
Dan was preceded in death by his parents; two sons-in- law, a grandson-in- law, a nephew and an
infant grandson.
Dan is survived by his wife and four daughters who were the loves of his life. Daughters are
Debra Richards of Jacksonville, Denise and husband Chuck Sanders of Plain Dealing,
Diane McSwain of Jacksonville and Dina George
of Lindale, Texas. He is survived by his brother,
Freddie, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Also surviving are his sisters-in-law
and brothers-in-law, Merle and Dana Nelson of Wylie, Texas and Ronny and Sara
Singley of Tyler; a
niece and two nephews, their spouses and children.
Serving as pallbearers are Hank Richards, Joshua McSwain, Ian Anderson, Trevor Higgins,
Chuck Sanders, and Rich Bridges. Honorary pallbearers are
his 1957 Texas A&M Spider “D”
classmates: Jim Thompson, Gene Wismer, Jim Leissner, Don Lenert, Winfred Hogan, Larry
Cahill, and Bun McIntosh.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Heart
Association or the March of
Dimes.
A funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, November 19, 2016 at Autry Funeral Home Chapel in Jacksonville. He will be laid to rest at West Shady Grove Cemetery.
Visitation
will begin on Friday, November 18, 2016 and friends are cordially invited to visit with
Dan’s family from 5 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home.