Graveside services for George Edward Walter, Jr., of Tyler Texas, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, February 9, 2018 in Rose Hill Cemetery, located in Chickasha, Oklahoma.
George was born in Ottumwa, Iowa on October 2, 1925, the son of George Edward Walter, Sr. and Ethel Amanda (Conrad) Walter. He grew up in Chickasha, Oklahoma, where he attended high school and was an outstanding student and athlete.
Like most of his high school classmates graduating during World War Two, he quickly entered the military and was inducted into the service in 1943. After training, George joined Company G of the 398th Infantry, of the 100th Division, where he would serve out his combat career in the Rhineland, Central Europe Campaign, earning two Bronze Stars while becoming a squad leader and Sargent. His platoon spent many nights in muddy, freezing foxholes while German artillery, mortars and machine gun fire rained down upon their frontline positions, causing heavy casualties. The 100th Division, which had originally landed in Italy, eventually fought all the way into Germany, helping to bring the war to an end. George then became part of the Occupation Forces and served as a Staff Sargent in the Military Police in Heidelberg, Germany.
George left the military on May 21, 1946 and returned home to Chickasha. On his first evening home, he naturally wanted to roam around town to find old friends and find out the fate of so many of his classmates who had also served. His dutiful mother reminded him to be home by 10:00, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had been a front-line combat infantry soldier, in a muddy foxhole under constant enemy fire just months before.
After his return, George entered the University of Oklahoma School of Petroleum Engineering, where he eventually graduated number 1 in his class. He was hired by Humble Oil, the company that later became known as Exxon, and moved to south Texas, where he met his future wife, Norma Ball. A short time after their marriage, they began the first of many international assignments and moved to Calcutta, India. Subsequent positions took them to both Baghdad and Kirkuk, Iraq, the first home for their son Jamie who was born in 1961. Later moves took them to Benghazi, Tripoli and Marsa al Brega in Libya, on the North African coast. After 6 years of assignments in Connecticut and Texas, the family was off to Colombia, South America where George helped to discover new oil fields in remote areas of the jungles. Eight years later, he retired from Exxon and moved back to Tyler, Texas with his wife, where he continued to be active in the local oil business with his own company and with various other privately held companies for over 30 years. He passed away on January 29, 2018 at his home in Tyler at the age of 92, only 3 months after the passing of his wife.
George is survived by a son Jamie and his wife Deborah, as well as his wife’s little sister Sally Mea, her two children, Robin Boney and Allison McKinney, and his cousin Joe Conrad and wife Deanna Faris Conrad.
Services and interment are under the direction of Ferguson Funeral Home.