Recent Obituaries

Jack Lee George, 95, passed peacefully in his home in Des Moines, WA on November 25, 2024. Jack blessed his family with his keen mind, good nature, and great sense of humor until his final days. Jack was born Sept. 24, 1929, in Spokane, WA and spent his early years growing up in Wallace, ID. His father worked for newspaper publication companies and the family was reassigned several times due to the war-effort until they eventually settled in West Seattle after WWII. Jack attended and graduated from West Seattle HS in 1947. Jack volunteered for service in the US Army during the Korean Conflict and trained as a Radio Operator. He spent nine months on the front lines in Korea. Near the end of his military service, Jack joined the 3rd US Infantry Div. and served in the Honor Guard at Arlington National Cemetery. He was honorably discharged in 1952. Jack returned to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, where he obtained degrees in Business and Law. He met his wife, Betty Jean Lee on a blind date during college and the two eloped to Las Vegas and were married in 1955.

After his graduation, Jack worked for The Boeing Company, holding responsible positions in the Materiel Dept. on the B-52 Program, the BOMARC Missile Program, the Saturn Rocket Task Force and later the Minuteman Missile Program. After several years, his role changed to Commercial Airplane production working as supervisor in the Configuration Management department in Everett on the new 747 program. He joined the ranks of the “Incredibles” and supported the first 22 airplanes produced.

In August of 1970, Jack accepted a leadership role with a start-up firm named Northwest Traffic Management of Kent, WA. As the business grew, they secured major contracts to support the Alyeska Pipeline, trade partners throughout the Pacific Rim, and domestic clients such as Levi Strauss. Northwest Traffic eventually grew to include outside sales offices in Oregon, Idaho, and California. Around 1990, after serving 20 years with the company, Jack was promoted to President/CEO at a time when the firm had grown to 150 employees in four states. Jack eventually retired in 1999 at the age of 70.

Jack was a life-long Husky fan and a member of the Tyee Club. He held football season tickets for over 50 years. Jack volunteered in his community by dedicating 25 years to coaching little league baseball and men’s softball teams in West Seattle. His sons all benefited from his outstanding coaching.

Jack and Betty loved traveling and visited nearly 50 countries to locations in Asia, Europe, Mexico, Canada, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, Central America, New Zealand, and Australia.

Jack is survived by his lovely and caring wife Betty, his three sons Bill, Kevin, and Tim and their partners Marilyn, Jane, and Mona respectively. He was proceeded in death by his parents and his brother Jim. In addition to their three sons, Jack and Betty currently have 10 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren, with #13 on the way.

Memorial services and interment will be held at Tahoma National Cemetery on Friday, Dec. 20 at 3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be submitted in his honor to Children’s Hospital of Seattle.