George "Georgie" E. Fitts, Jr.

George “Georgie” E. Fitts Jr. was a man that everyone believed would live forever. His gumption for life, his nerve, grit, passion, perseverance and sacrifices he made have shaped his family for generations.

On Dec. 16, 2025, George passed peacefully next to his daughter and his wife of nearly 50 years, leaving a world changed by his absence but wholly impacted by his life.

Born on June 16, 1942 in Clearlake, California, George grew up like the tales of Huckleberry Finn – surrounded by his siblings, he would scale the hills, plunge the depths of the lake, dig up Clearlake diamond treasures and adopt the nearby wildlife as his own pets. He attended Burns Valley Elementary and Lower Lake High School, then eventually moved to San Francisco where he was drafted into the U.S. Army to serve his country during the Vietnam War until his honorable discharge in 1966.

When George arrived back in Clearlake after the war, he became a volunteer firefighter for the Lakeshore Fire Department and later founded his own trucking business.

George’s life was also rooted in courage. If he felt fear while freely diving into the ocean for abalone shells, side-by-side with sharks, he never showed it. When he rappelled down a cliff and saved a young girl from falling to her death as she clung to a tree branch, he didn’t think twice.

George, who was a rugged outdoorsman during his time on Earth, built a simple life that was filled with hunting, fishing and hard work. Most of it centered on family and living by the Christian faith.

When he met his wife Georgia, he took in both of her children like his own and later had a daughter in 1971. The couple wed in Reno in 1979 and eventually moved to Boise, Idaho, in 1985, where George worked for the City of Boise. Boise is where George and Georgia would establish the rest of their lives together, building snowmen with their grandchildren, watering the garden, grilling, listening to Merle Haggard, and taking their dog, Holly, camping in the mountains.

George is survived by his wife, Georgia; his sister, Alvina; his daughter, Shawn; his stepchildren Danine and Michael; his grandchildren Alexandra, Aimslee, Bevin, Rachel and Zach; his great grandchildren Ashlee, Tracen and Juniper; and his great great grandchildren Dawson, Kollette and Adeline. He is preceded in death by his brothers, Eddie and Lloyd; his sister, Betty; his parents, George and Lola Fitts; and his beloved Great Pyrenees, Holly.

George will be laid to rest at the Idaho State Veteran’s Cemetery in Boise on Jan. 8, 2025 in a committal service with military honors at 1 p.m. MST with his immediate family in attendance.

We will miss you, papa.

Arrangements are under the direction of Bowman Funeral Parlor of Garden City.