George Wesley Black

GySgt. (Retired) George W. Black, firmly believed that old soldiers never die, they just fade away. And in true soldier fashion, he left this earth having fought the good fight. Peaceful and surrounded by family, another angel entered into Heaven. Born in 1942, in Talladega, Alabama, he left at the age of 17 to serve his country and join the United States Marine Corps. He served on active duty in the Marine Corps from 1960-1980. He retired and entered into the Marine Corps Fleet Reserve for an additional 10 years and received his final retirement in 1990. While on active duty he was deployed to and fought in the Vietnam War from 1965-1969, having completed 3 tours there. Out of 15 campaigns, he was involved in 11 of them. While in Vietnam, he was stationed at Camp Carroll, which was 12 miles east of Qui San. He flew on Air America with the CIA on his way from Da Nang to Phu Bai. In 1974 he met and married the love of his life. Together they had two children, and a marriage that spanned 41 years and two continents. In 1980 he began employment with the Port of Houston, and retired in 2003 as a certified peace officer. During his life, he was well known for his charity and volunteer work. He donated his time to HISD, and received a lifetime achievement award for his 30 years of service. He also volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America troop 544, from 1990-2010, where his son became an Eagle Scout. A project he was quite proud of. He is preceded in death by his parents, Edna Patterson and William Thomas Black, his brother, Thomas Jefferson Black, and his brothers-in-law Joseph Lanza, Shinich, and Masakas Nakamura, his mother-in-law Taeko Nakamura, and father-in-law Akio Nakamura. He is survived by his wife Akiko, daughter, Wendy Nicholson, her husband Casey, his son William, his sisters Gladys Hileman, Willie Lanza, Carolyn Wood, his brothers Jerry Black, Leonard, James, Danny Dunlap, and several nieces and nephews, all of whom he loved dearly. In lieu of flowers, please send any donations to the Salvation Army Disaster Relief Fund. Semper Fidelis.