June 27, 1935 - April 6, 2024
George passed away while in hospice in Edmond, OK on Saturday, April 6, 2024, that was just 6 days shy of his 66th wedding anniversary to the love of his life: Beverly. He was born June 27, 1935, in Newark, NJ. He was the youngest of 2 sons born to George and Lucille Durkin. Paul his older brother passed away in 1992.
George was a devout Irish Catholic raised in Newark, NJ where he first met Beverly in high school. He served in the Korean War from 1954-1956. Upon his honorable discharge, he enrolled and then graduated from Upsala College. While at Upsala he got engaged and married Beverly. Shortly thereafter their first of 4 children Mike was born, together they went on to have 3 more children Kevin, Kimberly, and Kathleen.
George started his professional career at Addressograph/Multigraph and went on to a storied career at General Binding Corporation. At GBC he rose through the ranks to EVP of Sales/Marketing along the way racking up countless honors and awards.
On a personal level George had many interests: First of which he loved playing and watching sports. He particularly enjoyed playing golf and tennis. He was also a founding member of the Englishtown, NJ Knights of Columbus Council 5903 in 1968. He achieved the 4th degree and was a past Grand Knight. Additionally, singing and dancing was second nature to George, and it brought him great joy. He joined the Show Club Follies in Ormond Beach, FL where they lived for 10 years. George was an outstanding member of the cast for many years. Singing Irish melodies and Sinatra songs at family and friend gatherings brought him true pleasure and it was always a highlight.
What made George special, was the true enjoyment he got from spending time with family and friends. He was easy to talk to had an incredible sense of humor and was extremely quick witted. He was truly engaging and always took a genuine caring interest in everyone he met. He will be missed immensely.
George is survived by his wife Beverly, his eldest son Mike and wife Karen, Son Kevin and his wife Missy, daughter Kim and her husband Peter Erdoes and daughter Kat and her husband Pete Ram. Additionally, there are 12 grandchildren; Michael, Jalyn, Andrew, Christian, Nicholas, Ben, Derek, Jared, Dirk, Erin, Noah and Finley and 2 great grandchildren; Evelyn and Everett.
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