George Edward McCullough

George Edward McCullough passed away from his earthly home while surrounded by family, on December 26, 2020 in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the age of 87.5 (after 85 half years matter again). He leaves behind his loving wife of 49 years Gillian McCullough. In addition to Gillian, he leaves behind four children from his first marriage: Caron Tennant, Bruce, Gary, and Lawrence McCullough; three children from his marriage to Gillian: Brian McCullough, Cathryn Kim, and Aaron McCullough; and 12 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. The memorial service will be held at a time when it is safer to celebrate George’s life in a style he would have appreciated, surrounded by friends and family (especially one’s that brought good food and better wine). In lieu of flowers, George wanted you to make a donation to the children of St. Jude’s in Tennessee. You can donate at the following website: https://www.stjude.org/

George McCullough was born in 1933, in Port Jervis, NY; the last year of the Great Depression. He was the first born of George and Mary McCullough and the oldest of five boys, which should elicit a well over due thank you to his mother when he sees her in heaven. As a young man, George foreshadowed to his passion for service when he volunteered for duty in the Navy during the height of the Korean War. This move allowed the Lord to demonstrate how much he loved George by having the Navy overlook their ongoing conflict in Asia and send him to sunny Cuba instead. George proudly served his country for several years as a sailor but more importantly a Seabee. One of his more famous stories revolved around him being recalled from leave in Havana just as Castro and the communists descended from the mountains and into the city. The Navy closed the gates at Guantanamo behind him and they haven’t been open since (for those of you who haven’t served, stories from deployments only have to be ten percent true). After his “hardship” tour in Cuba, the Navy got their revenge on George, but they couldn’t crush his spirit. For his second assignment they moved him to….. Bermuda (seriously?). Here (in the trenches of Bermuda) he met his first wife and started a family. They traveled with him back to the United States during several more years of government service. George would eventually return to Bermuda to settle down to raise his family…. and start a second family (it’s ok, we all get along quite well now).

During his career as a Seabee, his work on missile silos in California and his time on aircraft production lines in Washington, George self-learned architecture and engineering and through his grit and determination ended up as a general contractor on the Knoxville and New Orleans World Fairs. After a successful career as an architect, he decided to follow his dreams and open his own construction company, Manna Construction. His trusting demeanor and his faith in his fellow human beings did not translate into the cut throat world of business and he ultimately had to close the company. Eventually, George would reinvent himself and start renovating older houses in the “historic” parts of Knoxville. He was flipping houses before flipping house was cool, and then not cool, and then cool again. Knoxville was where he would ultimately call home.

It was in Knoxville, where George and Gillian dedicated their hearts and lives to fostering over 100 children in the Knox County Foster Care system. He dedicated his time and energy to defending those children who could not defend themselves and his compassion showed in his love for those less fortunate. George fulfilled another lifelong dream of writing and publishing his own book, “Taking the Measure of Christianity”, concerning how Christianity and Christ’s original teaching have been changed by man and institutions over the past 2000 years (he would be very mad if we didn’t tell you it is still available on Amazon). The book was his passion, his ever growing thirst for finding his true faith in God and the teachings of Christ. During his journey he debated faith with scholars and laymen, studied ancient texts and watched hours of lectures on philosophy and religion, but nothing got him going more than a couple verses of “How Great Thou Art”; he loved him some old school church.

George’s other passions in life revolved around family, food, traveling, and fixing things. His piece de resistance was if you could combine all four of them together. The man loved to cook (or just grill the meat Gillian had prepared for him) but beyond cooking, he loved to eat; especially the colossal spread of food his brothers presented during their annual family reunions. He would travel to the ends of the earth to find a delicious bowl of mussels or a worthy cheese shop. By the way, his favorites were in Anglesey and Betws-y-Coed, Wales, respectively. In so much as he enjoyed the food, George also loved his spot at the head of the table during family holiday’s and celebrations. He didn’t love it because of the attention or power it brought him, he loved it because he could ensure everyone was satisfied, taken care of, content and loved. He was a fixer through and through and this passion translated from leaky faucets or stray voltage into problems which would arise around the dinner table. He hated not being able to fix something and he rarely ever gave up until he found a solution. Today’s world could use a little more of his tenacity and fortitude.

Whether you knew him as Georgie, George, Hun (as in ‘Honey ’not ‘Attila’) Dad, Grandpa, or King George, you knew he was a man dedicated to constantly improving himself and those around him (whether you wanted improving or not). He admittedly made a lot of mistakes in his life but was always adapting and overcoming the failures he faced. Furthermore, George was never short of advice to help make you better, but it was never to hurt or upset, it was to help you grow and he was always there to pick you up after, or carry you if necessary, and set you back on the right path. George was a man who constantly sought out wisdom, which eventually grew into compassion for all of those around him. In the end he learned to love mercy, act justly, and walk humbly with his God. Well done good and faithful servant, son, husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, and great-grandfather. We’ll miss you.