George De Leon

MONTEREY - George De Leon, retired firefighter and patriarch to his large and loving family, died peacefully at home on December 4th from Lewy Body Dementia at the age of 85. A Celebration of Life and Mass will be celebrated January 4th, 2020 at 11:00 AM at St. Angela Merici in Pacific Grove.

George was born December 24th, 1933, in Santicoy, located in Ventura County, to Elias Sr., and Maria De Leon. He married his high school sweetheart and lifelong love, Lydia, in Soledad on March 5th,1955.

George moved his young family to Monterey while he continued to work in Greenfield on the ranch. He then landed a job at Holman’s Department Store in Pacific Grove. From there, he applied to the Monterey Fire Department but was rejected because he was one-quarter inch too short. George persevered and applied again. This time he was accepted and served the City of Monterey as a firefighter for 24 years. He was known for safety first and doing things the right way. He trained many junior firemen. George often worked 2 jobs at a time, supporting his growing family. He would work 24 hours on at the fire station, and then go to “work in the wood” on his days off, delivering firewood for George Taylor.

Following retirement, George swapped out working full-time for volunteering full-time. He volunteered at CHOMP for 14 years and then at Natividad Medical Centre for 12 years. At Natividad, he put his Spanish-speaking skills to use translating for doctors and explaining procedures to Spanish-speaking patients. He was highly respected by the doctors, patients and staff, and was named Natividad Volunteer of the Year. George volunteered at the Hartnell Western Theatre as an usher, which he said he did just so he could watch the plays. He was also a volunteer for the Bing Crosby/AT&T Pro Am Golf Tournament.

In his retirement, George and Lydia traveled the world. Together they visited Europe, Central America and South America, often joined by children and other family members. He especially loved the ingenuity of the Panama Canal and visited it twice, spending every minute on deck.

For years, George traveled to Mexico during spring break with the Carmel Presbyterian Church youth group where they performed any needed repairs and grounds work for the church. After a few times of sleeping in a tent on the hard red dirt, he drove his truck and upgraded by sleeping in the truck bed. While in Mexicali, he noticed recovering drug addicts living and sleeping in make-shift housing. He went back to Monterey but soon returned with Lydia and they set up a halfway house, a chapel, and habitable living for the drug addicts. They made several trips back to Mexico with their pickup truck packed full of clothing and supplies.

George could fix anything, from a leaky roof to mending and building a fence, although some members of the family were privately reserved about driving the station wagon he dropped an engine in. Turns out it ran perfectly.

George was an active member of St. Angela Merici, serving together with Lydia as youth ministers. They shared their home and love with several foster children and teenagers. Family activities always included friends and friends of friends, and there was always room for one more at the table. One of these included Bobby Buckley, who spent much of his young childhood at the De Leon house as part of the family. There was never a dull moment in the De Leon household with children, relatives, and pets, including George’s beloved German shepherd, Phoebe.

George never stopped learning and was a man of culture. He had a huge collection of classical music. He was a genius at crossword puzzles. He appreciated good wine and food. George could discuss history with the best of history buffs. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and with a straight face, proclaimed any flower he could not identify as a “ranunculus” to grandchildren who hung on his every word.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his children, Yvonne and Fernando, and his siblings, Manuel, Frank, Ester, and Elias Jr.

He is survived by his wife Lydia; children, Beth (Bob) Hawkes, George (Hope) De Leon Jr., Bernard De Leon, Yolanda (Bruce) Coker, Marian (Dan) Schultze, Albert De Leon and Gerry (Dianne) De Leon; eleven grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; siblings, Jose (Connie) De Leon and Linda De Leon, and large extended family.

He loved his family and his feelings ran deep. In his office he saved files of each person’s name filled with notes and pictures written by grandchildren and loved ones. George De Leon will be sorely missed and lovingly remembered by many.

George’s family would like to especially thank Dr. Gary Grant and the staff of Hospice of the Central Coast for the wonderful care they gave George.

In lieu of flowers, donations in George’s name may be made to the Firefighter’s Burn Institute, 3101 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95820 or the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 4550 Montgomery Ave., Ste. 1100 N, Bethesda, MD, 20814. To sign George’s gust book and leave messages for his family, please visit www.thepaulmortuary.com.