George John Englesson

George John Englesson of Aberdeen died on Tuesday, April 19th at 10:15 pm at his home. He was 89 years old. Born on April 29th, 1926 in Bethlehem, PA he was the son of the late John and Sophia "Sophie" (Poupalos) Englesson. George was a graduate of Liberty High School in Bethlehem before enlisting in the Army and attending Penn State University. He attended Penn State for one semester before the necessities of WWII took him to Europe where he eventually served as part of 3rd Army's advance into Germany. George returned home as an Army veteran of WWII to attend his beloved Lehigh University and became romantically involved with his lifelong love, Jeanette Fardis. He graduated from Lehigh with a Bachelors of Arts in Finance in 1950. George and Jeanette were married at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Bethlehem on April 27th, 1952 Mr. Englesson and his family moved to Aberdeen in 1955 to join his cousins Steve Karas and Peter Mikes who owned the New Ideal Diner. George eventually became the owner of the New Ideal Diner in Aberdeen. Always politically active, George was elected an Aberdeen Commissioner serving from 1986 – 1992 and was elected by his fellow Commissioners several times as head of the Commissioners to serve as "Mayor". He was instrumental in eventually changing the municipality to an elected Mayor and Council/City Manager form of Government. A founder of Higher Education and Applied Technology (HEAT) Center, the Army Alliance, the Northeast Maryland Technology Council (NMTC) the Harford County Boys and Girls Club, the Aberdeen Economic Development Commission, and Citizens for a Better Aberdeen. He also worked tirelessly to get the Maryland Stadium Authority to back the project that eventually became Ripken Stadium and served on the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Disposal of Mustard Agent. George was always a staunch advocate of the value of the US Army Aberdeen Proving Ground to Aberdeen, Harford County, the State of Maryland and the Armed Forces of the United States. A believer in "whatever it takes!" to make good things happen for his community, George established Aberdeen as a central player in County, State and Federal partnerships. He worked with County Executives, State and Federal Legislators, Maryland Governors and Army Generals throughout his lifetime. Never one to accept personal recognition for his many contributions to his community, he always insisted on giving credit to others. George was well known and blessed with many friends and relatives whom he always cherished. He felt particularly honored to count William Donald Schaefer and Cal and Vi Ripken as friends. He was a member of numerous fraternal, civic, veteran and national service organizations and was a lifelong member of both the Aberdeen Lions Club and the Rotary Club of Aberdeen. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Jeanette A. (Fardis) Englesson; sons, John Englesson of Lehigh Valley, PA and Greg Englesson of Kingston, NY; daughter Constance Weil of Eldersburg, MD; grandchildren, George, Laurel, Alexander and Alaina and his sister Chrysanthy "Chris" Axiotis of Warren, OH. Visitations will be held at the Tarring-Cargo Funeral Home on Monday April 25th from 2-4pm and 6-8pm. Funeral services will be held at Saints Mary Magdalene and Markella Greek Orthodox Church on Tuesday, April 26th at 10:00 am. Interment will follow immediately at Harford Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers contributions in his memory may be made to Saints Mary Magdalene and Markella Greek Orthodox Church, 3714-16 Dublin Rd., Darlington, MD 21034. Funeral Home: Tarring-Cargo Funeral Home 333 South Parke Street Aberdeen, MD US 21001