Woodsville, NH – Ernest Preston George, Sr., 90, died Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at the St. Johnsbury, VT Health & Rehab.

He was born in Woodsville, November 26, 1925, a son of Wayland P. and Marcia (Boulrisse) George.  Ernie, as he was known, grew up on the mean streets of Woodsville during the Great Depression.  This was when Woodsville was where the railroads and log drives thrived.  Connecticut Street was known for bootlegging and prostitution and men still had handguns strapped on their hips.  His father, Wayland, passed away soon after his birth and his mother, Marcia, washed dishes at the Hotel Wentworth while taking in laundry which she did by hand each night.  Ernie and his friends entertained themselves by hunting, fishing, and playing on the Connecticut River.

Ernie became an apprentice to the old blacksmith, Leo Mason, at a very young age.  He never lost his love for the trade and it served him well in his other creative ventures later in life.  Ernie later drove teams of horses in the woods hauling logs.  Listening to Ernie's stories of his childhood and school experiences might remind one of "Dennis the Menace."

When World War II broke out, Ernie was too young to enlist until he turned 18 in 1944.  He then spent many months in training in this country before being shipped overseas.  He was selected to be a machine gunner on the Browning water-cooled machine gun.  It was a heavy weapon and he was not a real big man, yet he could operate and maintain the weapon in any conditions, night, day, or in any weather.  He vividly remembered traveling to England on a Liberty Ship.  Ernie spent time in England and from some of his stories, he may still be remembered there.  Ernie was a member of the Bloody Sixty-Ninth Division and crossed into France just about the time of the Battle of the Bulge.  Ernie fought his way across France and into Germany during the fall and winter of 1944 and spring of 1945.  His stories of this part of his life are burned into the memories of all his children and anyone who spent much time with him.  While those experiences changed him, it was the liberation of a concentration work camp in Leipzig, Germany, that changed Ernie forever.  As the US troops approached the camp the Germans herded prisoners into a building soaked in flammable liquid, locked them in and set it on fire….anyone who escaped was shot.  Some of the guards switched clothing with the prisoners as the troops drew closer, but the prisoners turned on the guards.  It was not until about ten years ago that Ernie was able to recount and share the horrors he witnessed that day.  After that experience, the war changed for him and his only goal was killing Nazis at which, by his own accounts, he was very successful.  After the war ended he stayed as part of the Army occupation, but his hatred of the Germans and alcohol made him difficult to manage.

Upon his return to the States, it was hard for him to adapt to civilian life.  He continued to drink and fight, and by his own admission…a lot.  Years later he was diagnosed with PTSD and began receiving help from the Veterans Administration.  Ernie became a truck driver for St. Johnsbury Trucking and on a Saturday off he went swimming at the covered bridge that spans the Ammonoosuc River.  It was there he met Helen Brown who became his wife approximately two weeks later.  Their marriage lasted for 61 years until Helen's passing on October 20, 2008.

Ernie purchased a small lot in Stoneville, (a section of Woodsville) and built the house that still stands today.  He and Helen gave birth to ten children including three sets of twins.  Two of the children, Rodger and Deborah, died at birth and their oldest son, Ernest Preston George, Jr., was killed in a car accident on New Year's Eve 1971.  Ernie's drinking was a problem early in the marriage until he found Christ as his Savior, after which he never drank again.  After his conversion, he was instrumental in the founding of Calvary Baptist Church in Woodsville.  He was active in the church and provided his support to the church until it became necessary for him to go to the St. Johnsbury Health & Rehab Center where he lived until his passing.

An extremely talented and intelligent man, he ran an auto body shop, did mechanic work, and became an outstanding gunsmith.  His rifles were works of art, extremely accurate, and in demand.  He taught himself to run a lathe and created carved works of art that could pass for the real thing.  He once made a mid-size Civil War cannon that worked and looked like the real thing.  In spite of his grade school education, he educated himself and could do almost anything he put his mind to with almost nothing.

After Helen's passing, Ernie spent a number of lonely years in his house until he went to the St. Johnsbury Health & Rehab Center where he became a very social person and was a strong presence in that community.  It was so great to see Ernie grow and change during this part of his life.  Ernie was loved by everyone he encountered and will not soon be forgotten.  So, who was Ernie?  He was our Father who instilled a great sense of responsibility and determination in each of us.  If we can have just a small portion of strength and determination he exhibited, we will all be blessed to have had him as our Dad!

He was predeceased by his wife Helen; three children, Rodger, Deborah, and Ernest; a grandson, Zebulon Engle; and his siblings, Arlene Simmons and Charles George, Sr.

Survivors include seven children, Walter George of Waterford, VT, Mark George of Claremont, NH, Marion Stapelfeld of North Haverhill, NH, Daniel George of Woodsville, Elizabeth Nunn of Cabot, VT, Thomas George of Littleton, NH, Dorothy Parker of North Haverhill; several grandchildren; several great grandchildren; along with several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Calling hours will be on Tuesday, September 6th from 6 to 8 PM at Ricker Funeral Home, 1 Birch Street, Woodsville.

The funeral service will be on Wednesday, September 7th, at 11 AM in the Calvary Baptist Church, 20 Elm Street, Woodsville, with Pastor Alan Morrison officiating.  Burial will follow in Pine Grove Cemetery, Woodsville.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Calvary Baptist Church, 18 Elm Street, Woodsville, NH 03785.