George John Lees, Sr. Obituary (1934 - 2020)

L E E S "Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear." (Irish Proverb) George John Lees was born January 20, 1934 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died on April 6, 2020 in Cape May Court House, New Jersey. He was 86 years old and a resident of North Wildwood, New Jersey. George died from complications of COVID-19. George was born in Port Richmond and spent his childhood living on Chatham Street. He lived in Port Richmond for most of his life. He attended Nativity B.V.M. School and North Catholic High School and graduated in 1952. He dated a lovely girl, Roseann Whalen from Agate Street. George hung with his buddies at Memphis and Clearfield and Roseann made many trips past there to get his attention. George entered the military and proudly served his country in the Army. He was stationed at various posts around the country until he was transferred to Petaluma, California, where he served as a cook, a radio operator, a fire-fighter and was known to play against the Harlem Globe-Trotters. Dad / Pop-Pop's stories were quite colorful. While serving in the military, George was permitted leave to come home to marry Roseann. They were married on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1954 at Nativity B.V.M. They thought that due to a holiday not many would come to their wedding. They were pleasantly surprised to be wrong and their wedding was quite an affair. George returned to his post in the military and Roseann did have the chance to visit him in California. Before long, George and Roseann started their family with the birth of their first child, George. George was discharged from the U.S. Army in March 1956. He and Roseann bought a house on Agate Street, where he would live for the next 50 years. The house on Agate Street before long would be filled with six more children, Joann, Mary Beth, Rose Marie and Theresa, referred to as "the girls" and two boys, Jim and Stephen. 3033 would be filled with many happy memories. There was always lots of noise, love and laughs for George, Roseann and their children. George was a very hard worker providing for his family. If you were to ask George about the jobs he held, he could rattle off quite a few from garbage collector, postman, Bingo caller and the list would go on and on. George spent the majority of his career in the corrugated box industry. He worked for Continental Can Company on Blue Grass Road in Northeast Philadelphia. George worked in the office but eventually became the traffic supervisor. He was in charge of the truck drivers and they certainly kept him on his toes. He was responsible for providing employment to many young men looking for work, including nephews and family friends, as well as his son Stephen. He enjoyed his career and developed life-long relationships with those at the plant. Continental would be bought out by Stone Container and after a long career George retired. Not long after George retired, the greatest tragedy of his life would happen. While on vacation in Florida with Roseann, she suffered a fatal heart attack and passed away on January 24, 1990. George was lost without his beloved Roseann and mourned her death for a long time. His brother, Jack helped him to unretire and he went to work at his business, Casani Candy in Old Philadelphia. George did various jobs working with his brother and nephews from packing candy, delivering confections and making bank runs. It was good for George to keep busy and he enjoyed his time as a Casani employee. George was a devoted member of the Port Richmond community with his involvement in the Leprechaun Sports Association and Nativity Church providing many happy occasions. He was an annual volunteer working at the carnival, an usher in church, and was a member of the planning committee for the church's anniversary. George and Roseann along with their children enjoyed their annual summer vacations in Wildwood. Our luggage was better than Samsonite. We used the overruns of the waxed peach boxes courtesy of Continental Can. They folded flat and neatly under the beds of our Maple Street rental in the heart of Wildwood. Eventually they would realize their dream and buy a summer home in North Wildwood and 315 would become the center of so many happy family memories. Sadly, Roseann would only enjoy a few years at their shore house but George loved his time with his children and grandkids. Many hours were spent on the front porch relaxing and listening to Pop-Pop tell stories or jokes. The grandkids were all introduced to Charlie. Pop-Pop would point at a seagull and tell them "see that seagull, his name is Charlie." They would wave and yell to Charlie. They would love to sit on the swing and Pop-Pop would have a rope hooked to it and swing them back and forth. Dad enjoyed having friends and family around him. They all knew to bring their quarters as Pop-Pop would collect them so they could stay. A few of his 20 grandchildren worked as lifeguards. If you were a lucky one, you could spend the summer with Pop-Pop. George enjoyed the beach and going fishing. He even tried his hand at boating for a bit. George had a boat named the "How Do". Unfortunately, the boat suffered from aquaphobia. The boat ran like a charm in the driveway but would die as soon as it hit the ocean. The family enjoyed a Viking Funeral to end Dad's time as a boat owner. He still loved going fishing with the boys whenever he could. He loved his bike and riding around the Wildwoods. He had a great sense of humor and enjoyed telling stories, jokes and reciting little ditties. Some of his interests were collecting ceramic lighthouses, birds, and US State quarters. He was a history buff and enjoyed reading and talking about history. He followed the Philadelphia sports teams and Notre Dame football. George was preceded in death by his wife, Roseann, his parents James and Isabella (Dougherty), his siblings James, Isabelle (Sis), Jack and Marie Berry. He will sadly be missed and is survived by his children, George, Joann (Bruce) Michalski, Mary Elizabeth, James (Cindy), Rose (Wil) Mason, Theresa McVan, and Stephen (Violet) and his grandchildren: Tim, Jennifer, Lauren, Greg, Christine, Jonathan, Jimmy, Amy, Peter, Katelin, Brendan, Liam, Emily, Patrick, Kieran, Aidan, Tess, Chris, Stephen and Lauren along with his great grandchildren, many loving nieces and nephews and his sisters-in-law. A private graveside service will be held on Monday, April 13th. A memorial mass will be celebrated at a later date.