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George Barakat Gonzalez
Born: 8/5/1938
Died: 12/16/2021
Age: 83
Community: Mt. Morris, MI
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George Barakat Gonzalez, age 83, of Mt. Morris, Michigan, passed away in the early morning hours, December 16, 2021.
George will be celebrated at Reigle Funeral Home/Sunset Chapel located at 5501 W. Pierson Rd., Flushing, MI 48433. Visitation will be held from 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm on January 14, 2022, and 11:00 am with a service at noon on January 15, 2022. He will then have a grave-side service with military honors at Flint Memorial Park located at 9506 N. Dort Hwy., Mt. Morris, MI 49458.
George was born on August 5, 1938, to Peter Barakat and Consuelo Gonzalez Barakat in Guatemala, Central America and went at a very young age to Taybeth, a Palestinian village, where he was raised.
After immigrating to the United States alone at the age of 17, George took on a number of jobs including working as a Taxi Driver in New York City and as a Traveling Salesman before he would take on his true calling and enlisted in the United States Army serving during the Korean and Vietnam Wars (2 tours). After 21 years of service in the United States Army, George retired having attained the rank of Master Sergeant. During his time served he received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and several other medals and accommodations for his service and bravery. He was also a POW during his time served in Vietnam. After returning from Vietnam, he spent his last years in the military as one of the top Army recruiters in the mid-west.
After retiring from the Army, George was able to sit still for about 2 weeks before deciding he needed another job to keep busy. He went to work for Howard Johnson’s as a Facilities Manager. While there, George and his family lived there for about 6 months after a house fire. The staff at “Ho Jo” became like family.
From there he went to work for the Nuclear Plant in Midland where he was in charge of 3rd shift security detail. George spent the remainder of his career with the United States Postal Service. Retirement came early so that he could become a full-time caretaker for his wife. After Cindy passed in 1998 the rest of his life became dedicated to his grandkids. He attended his grandkids school functions including holiday parties, participated in their patriot musical for several years, sporting events and the list goes on and on. Everyone knew Grandpa George at the schools. Although a few of his grandkids lived out west, he took several trips to visit them as often as he could. George’s goal then became seeing his grandkids graduate from high school and then college. He would always say, “Get the best education you can, because no one can ever take that away from you!”
He was preceded in death by his parents, and daughter Manuela Gonzalez. George is now reunited with his wife Cindy and is survived by his 3 children, Victoria (Troy) Clayton, Jim (Laura) Gonzalez, and Anita (Dan) Collick; 6 Grandchildren; Brandon (Kalah) Gonzalez, Travis (Stephanie) Clayton, Cari (Josh) Clayton, Justin (Kyrsten) Collick, Chase Collick, Kayla Lugo; and his long-time life companion, Mary Anderson.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking donations to be made to Disabled American Veterans (DAV) in George’s name; dav.org/donate or 877-647-VETS.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ReigleFuneralHome.com for the Gonzalez family. |
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| Visitation |
| Date: |
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1/14/2022 |
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1:00 PM |
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| Funeral Service |
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1/15/2022 |
| Time: |
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12:00 PM |
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| Location: |
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Reigle Funeral Home, Sunset Chapel
5501 West Pierson Rd.
Flushing, MI 48433Get a Map to this location...
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