Obituary of George L. Fawcett

     George L. Fawcett (our husband, our father, our grandpa, our Papa) died at HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital on January 28,2023 with his family by his side.  He was 91 and the frailities of old age and illness took his life.  He is survived by his
younger sister, Mary Lotz of Illinois, his wife of forty-nine years, Nancy, his 
daughter, Debra L. Ramsey (Larry), his son, George F. Fawcett (Becky), and his grandchildren, Christopher (Catherine), Jacqueline, Chloe, Bradley, and Clark - each of whom he loved deeply as they all did him.     
     Born in Illinois, George was the sixth child in a family of ten children. After
high school graduation and work at a lumber yard, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving four years at sea, in French Morocco, and in London, England.  In 1956, he trained and began work as a C.E. for IBM in Chicago, Illinois.  A year later, he married Yolanda who was from Tampa, Florida and in 1958 became the father of a beautiful baby girl, Debra L..  That same year, he left IBM and moved with his young family to Tampa, Florida.
     Fate stepped in to chart his path when he interviewed for a job with the newly
formed GTE Data Services.  It seemed they needed someone to "wire" the new IBM equipment (pre-computer) in order to convert billing and collecting, toll, and accounting from paper to machine processing.  Later would come the change to the company's first RCA computers.  George was involved in all the conversions, especially in the toll area.  As a senior technical analyst, he became an expert in that field for the rest of his time at GTEDS.
     His first marriage ended in 1970. In 1973, he married Nancy, a programmer analyst at GTEDS and they became the proud parents of a son, George F. a year later.  In 1983, George decided to retire after twenty-five years of service, yet
always kept in touch with his GTEDS friends with bowling leagues, weekly Saturday
golf games, reunions, and get-togethers. Over the following decades, his life revolved around family.  He was truly happiest at family gatherings, and relished the camaraderie of close friends.
      George faced serious health problems beginning in 2011, again in 2013 and 2016-2018.  Time and again, George weathered life's storms and kept going.  But each illness took its toll on his body and at the end when death came, he was freed from further pain and suffering.  He leaves us with grave feelings of loss, yet we know
his legacy lives on in all our memories of him - his unending love, his loyalty, his hard work, his quirks, his sense of humor, his willingness to lend a helping hand, 
and his proud belief in all of us.  His remains will be buried at Bay Pines in St.
Petersburg, Florida after a private family service.  
      "No matter how prepared you are for the death of a loved one, it still comes
as a shock, and it hurts very deeply." (Billy Graham)  To those who read this memorial, thank you for your quiet prayers and wishes for peace and mercy.  They are consoling to his survivors.