George H. Love
June 24, 1919 - February 17, 2012
Obituary
George Herbert Love, long-time resident of Des Moines, Washington died peacefully surrounded by his loving family Friday, February 17, 2012. He was 92.
He was born June 24, 1919 in Burien and lived his entire life in the South End area. He owned that town.
He attended Sunnydale and Highline High School.
He met his wife Carol at the Burien baseball field and they were married in 1963, for 49 years.
Mr. Love’s family includes: wife Carol Love; sister Betty Tollefsen; sons Eric (Amanda), Mike (Sue) and Pat Love; daughter Alyssa Love, and grandchildren Lydia and Parker Love.
His extended family includes: Jeff Mill, Rhonda and Larry Nelsen; and Ralph Mill.
Mr. Love owned his first gas station at the age of 16. He then owned Burien Cab and Towing, a home oil delivery service, and several grocery stores including a grocery distribution business.
He coached Little League, Babe Ruth and Connie Mac baseball teams in the Burien area. He coached his Babe Ruth team for six years, winning the league every year, with only two losses. The team went on to play in the World Series in Canada, losing one game.
Some of his teams were Bonnie Guitar and Brumbaugh Builders, who produced a perfect season of 24 wins and zero losses.
His semi-pro team was Seattle Rendering.
Some of his “boys” included: Ronnie Santo who played 13 years with the Chicago Cubs and then broadcast their games and is now in the Hall of Fame, Dick Gyselman who played for the Philadelphia Philies and then the Seattle Rainiers, and Bob Houbregs who became an All American basketball player at the University of Washington.
Avid sports fan, a true supporter of the Huskies, and a fair-weather Mariners fan, he continued to coach from the couch.
Not just an on-the-field fan, Mr. Love collected baseball cards for years, and also coins — old and new as they became available.
Aside from baseball, Mr.. Love’s other passion was firewood. He spent many a day splitting, stacking, organizing, and selling “bone-dry” firewood at Bo Colello‘s market on Des Moines Memorial Drive.
Preparations are being made for a celebration of Mr. Love’s life, who was affectionately known as “the wood guy.”
George was a great guy, always smiling and upbeat and most certainly a jack of all trades! We will miss his good humour and helpfulness.
Forgot to load some photos!
Proud to have the hardest working Dad in the world!!!!
I loved you and I miss you!
We miss you!!!
Uncle George will be greatly missed. Always working in his garden at home, always happy to greet me when I stayed with my cousins in his Des Moines home. Lot’s of ice cream from his grocery store!
He was warm and kind to my son’s, sharing baseball stories and tales of his childhood.
You will be missed.
Rest in peace my dear friend. We spent countless hours splitting wood and painting houses together. I will always remember the happy smile that was so much a part of your gentle character and I have been truly blessed for the privilege of knowing you and being your friend. My son Justin and I will both miss you and think often of you…we love you George.
We will miss George’s stories, jokes and laughter. He was one of a kind, with a heart of gold. We love you George!
George worked for my dad Dave Tacher where I also worked as a young boy. George once let me drive his new 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 into Burien for a delivery. I had a little accident, no damage to his car but damage to the other car. I told George but not my dad. My dad did find out but not from George. i also played on his Sunnydale LL team. He was always a great guy to be around.
Morrie Tacher
We will miss his jokes and his always upbeat personality the world is a duller place without him
I loved interviewing “Uncle George” for N.W. Prime Time. When talking about his teams, one of my favorite quotes from him was, “I’ve never had a bad boy. They all grew up to be gentlemen and a credit to the community.” He went on to say his teams produced doctors, dentists, major league baseball players, school principals, policemen…and on and on.
Obviously this positive outcome is from the kind of person and mentor George was.
There will be baseball in Heaven! And what a fine coach that team will have!
George was always friendly and positive and I’m glad that he is part of my good memories. He brought joy to my kids’ lives (Autumn Norris and Jeremy Roedell) when they visited with him. I know he will be missed. I wish I could have spent more time around him when I lived in Seattle years ago. God bless you George.
Thanks Pop for the best years of my life. You are the hardest worker I ever knew. You wore out lots of paint brushes, hammered lots of nails and split many blocks of firewood …always smiling! Didn’t matter if it was raining, snowing or so hot the axe was smoking…. you were happy. Always willing to lend a hand to everyone. You are loved by so many. We miss you so much but now you are with all your loved ones that went before you and coaching ball again with wings that let you soar. We miss you so much, we will love you forever and look forward to being with you again in heaven.
We will miss George’s good humor, high energy, and generous ways!
George was such a great guy, always smiling and positive. A very gracious host, you couldn’t visit without being offered something to eat – maybe a fresh apple, homemade sandwich or a special treat. One of our favorite stories came about when we were looking to buy a house and were considering a historic home in the Seahurst neighborhood of Burien. We were telling him about it, its location and what it looks like, and his reply was, “I know that house. I used to deliver papers to there when it was brand new.” His memories certainly put a different perspective on thoughts of that “historic” house!
We miss you George!
All of us at CCS offer our condolences to the Loves and extended family. Though most of us were not lucky enough to know George Love, we knew him through his son Eric, who loved his Dad so much. We are very sorry for your loss.
I had the privelege of getting to know George through his son Eric. Eric and I used to drag race VW Beetles and on our way to the different race tracks we used to make a pit stop at George and Carols house to take a break. Eric and I did all the work on our cars and I painted them. George would always admire the paint jobs and ask me why I didn’t start my own business painting cars. I did not know until now that he was such a successful business man and owned his own businesses for so many years. I remember when Eric first told me how old George was and I was flabbergasted. He was such an active man that I thought he was much much younger then he really was. Bonnie and I have often said we hope we can be like him in our twilight years. George has touched the lives of many people and will be dearly missed.
Old memories with a tear in my eyes, I’m so privileged to have been able to call you coach and have you as a mentor and friend. It started back in 1952 when I walked past your cab company and you ask me if I played baseball….the next year i’m playing third base and your giving me tips on how to play the position…this kids fast…play up for the bunt…this kid has power…play back….this kid hits in the hole…play over….the catcher tuffy can’t throw….steal second……you’ve got your glove on the wrong hand…..all good tips but I was on the other team. But you saw something in me you picked me for your All-Star team when I was 11 and 12. The next year I joined your Babe Ruth team and when I was 15 we finished our season in the Babe Ruth World Series. I still have the bat you gave me after going 4 for 4 in the last game. I went on to captain my High School and College teams. After college I became a Husband,Father,Teacher, Coach, Professional Baseball Scout, Principal and School Superintendent and I attribute it all to you George and all those lessons you taught me growing up back in the 50’s . THANKS GEORGE…..P.S……enjoyed going with you and Jack to the Mariner Games the last 4 years…….Say hello to Santo, Mantle and the Babe……and if you have room on the bench or need a bat boy……save a space for me…….cloy
What a loss, but what great memories. You can’t help smiling when you speak of George.
Just wanted to take a moment and thank Dr. Amos Shirman and his wife Jody who gave such special care and attention to George. Dr. Shirman was always there for George, he even gave George his home number and told him to call whenever he wanted. Thank you for giving such special treatment to a special guy.
Much respect and many thanks to my Dad for being proud and supportive of me even though baseball was not my passion. He and my Mom spent many hours at events they would otherwise not have attended to hear music they would usually not listen to at volumes no one should really hear – I am forever thankful for that support. A special thanks to all who spend their days working to make unbearable situations a little bit easier – especially the folks at Harborview. Rest easy Dad, it’s time.
Hi George,
It’s Gail. When I look back at all the time spent at the ballpark with my dad, you, and lots of cute boys, I just have to smile 🙂
Thanks for all the smiles and corny jokes.
I’ll see you later at home plate.
The last time I saw George he was wearing that impish grin and he greeted me with, “Uh-oh, here comes trouble!” I believe my response was something like, “Yeah, well that’s like the pot calling the kettle black!” When you meet somebody who is already 70 years old you don’t expect that someday you will be able to say that you have known them for 20+ years, but thankfully I can say that about George. George and Carol are the parents of my longtime friend, Eric, and he has generously shared them with me over the years. I remember pacing the hall with George and Carol at St. Joseph’s Hospital while awaiting the arrival of Eric and Amanda’s first child, Lydia. George and I had bet a Coke on the gender, me hoping for a girl and George equally sure the baby would be a boy. I was wearing a pink sweater and a blouse with a lacy collar for good luck and sure enough George had to pay up! Although he mumbled and groused about losing, it was easy to see that Grandpa George was already “over the moon” in love with Lydia. I always appreciated the way George and Carol welcomed me as an “adopted” member of their family, and I always got a kick out of the verbal sparring with George. Although he sometimes tried to play the tough guy, anybody who knew George knew him as one of the kindest, most generous people you’d ever meet. I’m going to miss you and that grin, George. When I get to heaven I’m going to be listening for that familiar voice saying, “Uh-oh, here comes . . .”
George was an icon of South King County History. He remembered details as no one else could. I knew him for over 55 years. During that time he never lived north of Burien nor south of Des Moines. George and I would talk for hours about South King County: about Al Hostak winning the middle weight championship, about the days of ‘smokers’ in White Center, about things people don’t much care about anymore. In 1957 George’s team won the South King County Little League Championship. George touched a lot of young lives back in the 50’s. Those young men are no longer young, but I am guessing that each looks back to George as having inspired a competitive awakening. George will be missed.
I only meet George several times, but this last August I was able to spend over three hours talking to Carol and him about family history, they where the most gracious couple. Even then, he found a way to teach me something, “Don’t wait for tomorrow what you can get done today” You see, I found out we had a lot in common, staying busy, drinking Coke, Dick’s Drive In, cribbage, and lots of baseball. So I knew I wanted to get to know him a little better and had planned on seeing them plenty more. Well “I won’t wait again, and miss out on meeting such a good man, who anyone would be proud to have as family and friend.