George Shirley

George Milton Shirley Jr., of Tomball TX, died December 27, 2019 of heart disease. He was born at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Beaumont TX; September 23, 1939 to George Milton Shirley Sr and Ava Pearl Beatrice (Patty) Shirley. George graduated from Orangefield High School as valedictorian in 1957 and received a B.S. in Sociology from Lamar University in 1976. He was married to Anne Himmelheber December 26, 1960. George earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1956. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1957 and was honorably discharged in 1960. He was in the Naval reserves from 1960-1963. He also achieved the rank of captain in the Texas State Guard before his honorable discharge in 1975. George had numerous hobbies such as hunting, salt water fishing, raising rabbits for show, gardening, preserving food and a voracious reader of science fiction.  While in Orange TX one of his hobbies was working as a gunsmith in his father’s gun shop, Guns ‘N’ Gadgets. He also wrote articles about his Salt Water fishing trips in the Red Sea while working for Aramco and articles for Safety magazines. He had 50 years in the Petrochemical Industry; first as an operator for Mobil Chemical in Beaumont TX for 15 years, then in various companies in Houston TX, Corpus Christi TX, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Sulphur LA as a safety engineer. He worked as a safety consultant in Sulphur LA from 1991 until 2011. He made friends wherever he went. He could strike up a conversation on just about any topic. He is survived by his wife of 59 years Anne, daughter Merrie Thomas (Frank), of Tomball TX;  son Ransome Shirley (Mitzi), of Houston TX; grandchildren: Joshua Robertson (Stephanie), of The Woodlands TX;  Benjamin Robertson (Chelsea), of Tomball TX; Megan Young (Bryan) of Spring TX; Jordan Shirley of Houston TX; Nicholas Shirley of Corpus Christi; and 6 great grandchildren. George’s wish was to be buried at sea. Following his cremation and a family memorial service, George will be transported by a Navy vessel and his cremains buried at sea.