George E. Hitz Jr.

George is survived by his wife, Carol Hitz; his children, Amy Wallace and her husband Andrew Wallace, and Andrew Hitz and his wife Tiffany Hitz; and his grandchildren, AJ Wallace, Alex Wallace and Nicholas Hitz.

George was born in Poughkeepsie, NY on May 22, 1941 to George E. Hitz Sr. and Laura “Dixie” Hitz. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1965 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and went on to work for Raytheon Technologies and Digital Equipment Corporation (which later became Compaq and then Hewlett-Packard.) His work as an electrical engineer (or EE as he used to say) saw him travel around the world and work with the likes of Robert Noyce and Ken Olsen.

In 1972 he married Carol, the love of his life. In the years to follow, he welcomed his son and daughter, who became the main focus of his life for the next 47+ years.

They say that being present is the greatest gift you can give your children, and George embodied this.

His son performed hundreds of concerts between 4th and 12th grade and George did not miss a single one. In fact, he used to leave the office early every Friday in order to drive an hour into Boston to listen to two hours of Andrew's rehearsals with the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble. Because of his weekly presence, he was known by an entire generation of musicians in New England, "the calm in the chaos of 75 teenage musicians" as one recently described him.

His daughter was an avid athlete, playing basketball, volleyball and softball, and George was a fixture at all of her games. Her basketball career continued into college, where she was the captain of the Women's Basketball team at Messiah College and the Division III runner-up team in the nation in 2001. George attended dozens of games over her 4-year college career in spite of all of the games being at least six hours away. Again, he was a fixture in the lives of everyone on and associated with the team.

George loved the outdoors, particularly camping, canoeing and cycling. He helped organize numerous camping trips for Boy Scout Troop 61 in Sudbury, including whitewater canoeing trips on both the Penobscot River and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. He later returned, first with his son, and then with his daughter when she was old enough, to canoe the entire 92-mile Allagash in northern Maine as duos.

As an avid cyclist, George went on a number of multi-day bike trips with friends over the years but his favorite ride clocked in at just over 100 miles through the Berkshires. It began at his beloved summer house in Otis and saw him ride over the borders of Connecticut, New York and Vermont so he could say he had biked through four states before returning home. He was always at peace on his bicycle.

He was also a lifelong amateur radio operator, getting his first license when he was just a teenager. By the 1980s he had contacted someone in every country in the world where amateur radio was legal, and even a few where it was not. His children learned geography in part through the QSL cards (postcards exchanged between amateur radio operators confirming contact) that he received in the mail from literally all over the world. The house that he and Carol moved into in 1972, where he lived for the duration of his life, was chosen in part for amateur radio reasons, because he could install three 90-foot towers on the hill behind the house, enabling him to speak to more people around the world. He maintained his call sign, W1DA, until his death.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Mockingbird Foundation, a nonprofit where his son has volunteered on the Board of Directors for over a decade. The Mockingbird Foundation has broadened access and educational opportunities for young people in music through the awarding of grants in all 50 states totaling over $2 million.

There will be a Celebration of Life on Saturday, June 17th from 2:00 - 4:00 PM at First Parish of Sudbury, 27 Concord Road. Please note there is plenty of parking available across the street next to Peter Noyes Elementary School. We welcome friends and family to gather to celebrate his incredible life.

There will also be a Celebration of Life in the Berkshires later in the summer, the date of which will be announced soon.