GARDEI, George Franklin

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ 05/05/2015 George Franklin Gardei, 85, passed from this life into eternity March 27, 2015, in Cave Creek. He was born Feb. 21, 1930, to George Fredrick and Emma Gardei, the sixth of seven children. George went through school in Akron and was voted the smartest in his graduating class. After graduation he enlisted in the Navy where he received all his training in electronics. While in the Navy he met and married Goldie Crowe who was the love of his life. After his discharge from the Navy, he went to work for Goodyear Aircraft in Akron where he worked for several years. In 1955 he went to Hugh’s Aircraft in Los Angeles, Calif., where he stayed one year. In 1956 he went back to Goodyear Aerospace, who changed their name, and had moved to Goodyear, where he stayed for 31 years, working on many projects all of which were classified at the time and probably some are still to this day. He retired from Goodyear Aerospace in 1987 and moved to ‘his mesa” outside of Snowflake. There he made his home. It was total solar and was something to see. Some of the components he designed and built himself. It was still running at his death. He had a brilliant mind and there was nothing he could not do once he set his mind to do it. The solar system is just one example. He met Eleanor Ferry and they were married December 1998. They were married 15-1/2 years until he went to live with his daughter in Cave Creek last year. George was preceded in death by his wife, Goldie. He is survived by his four children, Kathryn Hanson of Cave Creek, William (Donna) Gardei of Derry, N.H., Carol Mack of Portland, Ore., and Carl (Janet) Gardei of Norcross, Ga.; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A memorial service for George will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 16, at Valley View Southern Baptist Church, 1212 S. Main, in Snowflake.