George Benton Heald III

Heald, George B. lll, 83 years, of Spring Hill, commenced upon his final journey on May 24th , while under the warm & wonderful care of Hospice.

            He loved and was loved by his little sister, Loretta Heald Gardina, his five children and their spouses; George B. IV Heald; David (Jennifer) Heald, Joanne (Ron) Lane; Christine (George) McHugh; Adam (Liz) Heald; his eight grandchildren; Kyle and Sean Lane; Lauren (George) Serle; Courtney (Shawn) Doherty;  William Heald; Caitlin Heald (fiancé-Alex Horowitz); Ian Heald; Daniel Heald;  and his very first great grandson Anthony Michael Heald Horowitz; his many nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews, who have always known the love of their “Uncle Sandy”

            He is also survived by his partner of many years, Diane Lundh, with whom he shared the caring upbringing of their 3 pampered special fur babies over that same span of time as well.

            He is predeceased by his “brother-from-another-mother” Jim Gardina who, no doubt, escorted him along these first steps of this, his newest adventure.       

            One often hears of George: “He didn’t have a mean bone in his body”; he gathered Friends where ever he landed, and once a friend, would be there, no matter how much time may have passed between visits.

            George may have begun this life in the picturesque town of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (the heart of Philadelphia’s “Main Line” suburbs) but that town could not reign in that gypsy-in-his-soul need to travel; discover and experience new things.

            George, as a cherubic-faced altar boy, walked with all solemnity, behind the Priest during the Queen of May procession at St. Margarets in Narberth, Pa – a role he took on, as did his father before him, and as would his sister after him.

            Sports have always factored highly in his life, bringing him joy as an active participating athlete, as well as being an avid vocal fan of any and all of his adopted teams.

            At one point in time, his vertically-challenged stature served him perfectly well as Cox Swain for the Monsignor Bonner Rowing Team as they glided long lengths of the Schuylkill River, in response to his strategic guidance.

            On the baseball diamond, he was fleet-of-foot and amazingly agile with his fielding skills. Truly impressive to behold as a fine fit young man.  As a father of young sons, volunteering his time as assistant coach for Little League football and baseball for Roslyn Raiders Athletic Association (1967) it was written in the Roslyn Life News that George was: “a local Jim Thorpe”.  How cool was that?!

            Although you could find him biking unreservedly, barreling down, across and over mountainous and Cliffside trails of coastal California, buffered by fresh air breezes... He is, in his heart, a creature of the sea.  With salt water coursing through his veins, he was absolutely in his element surrounded by and buoyed by the ocean tides.

            This salt-water affinity was manifested as he rode currents of the winds, while sailing; as he navigated hidden depths while scuba diving; as he patiently taught the nuanced steps of snorkeling to each of his 5 children; as he did the same, with varying degrees of success, the delicate and challenging balances of surfing.

            If you knew him, you most likely have a vivid picture in mind; head, face, and beard ringed by water; with his toes barely breaking the surface; his body, gently bobbing atop the mini swills with a 50-50 chance of his sleeping or waking state.

            Those of you from the Hernando Beach Crew remember the many festive, fun-filled outings on the Flats; full of laughter and Friendship while industriously (or not so –much) scalloping; always, always accompanied by the rousing sounds of music to round out the days.

            Music... did somebody say music... – Well, to be sure George was an equal-opportunist music lover.  He celebrated Life to the “Rhythms, rhymes and Harmonies” of just about any and all genres!  Collections of ticket stubs; T-shirts; and photographs abound as testament, most especially, to his passion for Live Music, which he often shared with assorted family members throughout the many years.

            Let’s not forget his mad love for bad puns!!  He clearly was “a Very Punny Guy”, frequently chuckling, unabashedly, to his own puns, long before the term: “Dad Jokes” was ever penned!

            He also tapped into his “Easy Rider” energy with his Best Buddy Pete, compadres across the miles, foregoing hotel stays while on the road, opting instead, to hunker down in their sleeping bags, next to their bikes; awakening to the rising sun and dew-dampened grass; even scurrying one morning to broaden the distance between themselves and an inquisitive and hungry gator peering at them from the other side of their “Rides”!!

            In the words of his grandson Sean: “He always looked good as an older man, ...feels a bit like he was born to be a Cool Granpop!”

            That was George, he was one cool Dude!!

            So long... Farewell... We love you... Until we meet again...

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