On March 19, 2020, in the early hours of the morning, George Jay Hawley departed from his bed by the window in his wonderful home, the Snohomish Chalet/Delta Rehab, for parts unknown.
George lived an extraordinarily adventuresome and full life from his birth near Warsaw, MO, in 1955 until a motorcycle accident on Mothers’ Day, 1979, in Kansas City, MO, through which he sustained a traumatic brain injury. The following nine years his parents Dave and Thorne Hawley oversaw his entertainment, well-being and surgeries with energetic determination, assisted by the extended family and helpers. In 1988 George relocated to the Snohomish Chalet in Snohomish, WA, near Seattle where his sister Harriett Morton and family live. There he has appreciated the loving care, shared laughs and frequent smiles generated by his final word of “well…” delivered with endless intonations. George continued there his extraordinary life in a wheelchair with very limited language, where his primary contribution to the world consisted of brightening other people’s lives.
George is survived by his brother Charles Gray Hawley of Denver, CO and his sister Harriett Hawley Morton of Mercer Island, WA, along with many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, scores of interesting cousins and friends everywhere who felt like family . David and Thorne Hawley both found primary joy in adding to his lifestyle before Dave’s death in 1995 and Thorne’s in 2007. Big brother Roger departed this crowd in 2016.
Donations to acknowledge his passing would be gratefully appreciated by the Snohomish Chalet. Please send the donation as a check to:
Delta Foundation
1711 Terrace
Snohomish, WA 98290
George lived an extraordinarily adventuresome and full life from his birth near Warsaw, MO, in 1955 until a motorcycle accident on Mothers’ Day, 1979, in Kansas City, MO, through which he sustained a traumatic brain injury. The following nine years his parents Dave and Thorne Hawley oversaw his entertainment, well-being and surgeries with energetic determination, assisted by the extended family and helpers. In 1988 George relocated to the Snohomish Chalet in Snohomish, WA, near Seattle where his sister Harriett Morton and family live. There he has appreciated the loving care, shared laughs and frequent smiles generated by his final word of “well…” delivered with endless intonations. George continued there his extraordinary life in a wheelchair with very limited language, where his primary contribution to the world consisted of brightening other people’s lives.
George is survived by his brother Charles Gray Hawley of Denver, CO and his sister Harriett Hawley Morton of Mercer Island, WA, along with many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, scores of interesting cousins and friends everywhere who felt like family . David and Thorne Hawley both found primary joy in adding to his lifestyle before Dave’s death in 1995 and Thorne’s in 2007. Big brother Roger departed this crowd in 2016.
Donations to acknowledge his passing would be gratefully appreciated by the Snohomish Chalet. Please send the donation as a check to:
Delta Foundation
1711 Terrace
Snohomish, WA 98290
To George!
I met George in 1977 before accident on Mercer Island at John and Harriett .George played the piano.Later I have been to birthday party in Washington and was always visiting with Harriett when I was in Seattle and loved George’s fun laughter.Year 2000 we were all in Park City and we were dancing with George in his wheelchair we all had fun, I shall miss Georgia with his smiling face.-----for Lotte Bowman by Harriett
I met George in 1977 before accident on Mercer Island at John and Harriett .George played the piano.Later I have been to birthday party in Washington and was always visiting with Harriett when I was in Seattle and loved George’s fun laughter.Year 2000 we were all in Park City and we were dancing with George in his wheelchair we all had fun, I shall miss Georgia with his smiling face.-----for Lotte Bowman by Harriett
I am Blanca Verlinde, Nurse the took care of George for over 20 plus years! At DRC Snohomish WA
Yes! George everything is “well”, in heaven along with your loving mom Thorn, who was the greatest mom you ever had, I became George Nurse for over 23 years. You made me laugh, you were the best. Set in his routines, you love DRC the best.I never forget your trip to Hawaii. But you decided to come back earlier then plan, to your home. All the Caregivers knew you well. Your Mom took piano lessons from my son, Eric Verlinde. So when my son performed, you be there in the Audience. Was nice to see you there. You love music. Thorn always invited us, For dinner. . Thorn and Charles cooked us a great dinner. Your family show so much love to you, eg. to continue active in your drawings, outings, I was privilege to gone to a Birthday Celebration . Art drove your Van. You had so much fun, with your family, You always brought smile to the Staff, whenever you get upset. I asked you, to do the “Donald Duck” impression . And the made you laugh. Never forget one day, you were waiting for breakfast, in B2? You hear a joke, your roommate was telling. You laughed so hard, your dentures ejected out your mouth, across 8 feet, against the widow glass, one tooth chipped. We all including you had tears laughing to the point of coughing. I know God chose a perfect place for you to go. I was heartbroken. But I know was best for you. Had not seen you since my last day of work 8/20/2019. As I Retired. It was a pleasure taken care of you. You brought joy My life. And though me to live in the moment, till I see you again! You are free from discomfort and having the adventure of the rest of eternity. Blanca Verlinde. Prayers to loved ones left here. Harriet
When the unthinkable happens it is a heartbreak, but somehow George found a way to use it as an opportunity
He revealed to many of us that the essence of who he was in the past was still the essence of who he was in his present self.
His curiosity, his creativity, his caring nature - and his sometimes impish and comic nature ... those were all very present throughout his entire life.
I’m lucky to have known him and it’s my belief he has found peace and contentment ... and possibly some mischief to get into!
He revealed to many of us that the essence of who he was in the past was still the essence of who he was in his present self.
His curiosity, his creativity, his caring nature - and his sometimes impish and comic nature ... those were all very present throughout his entire life.
I’m lucky to have known him and it’s my belief he has found peace and contentment ... and possibly some mischief to get into!
It was 1976 and I was attending MU at 16 instead of doing my senior year in H.S., living in White Gate Apts when one random evening I took my guitar and walked across the street into a meadow chest height with grass. In the middle of that meadow was George,playing his guitar. We became fast friends, long discussions, music and travel. We drove to the lake house by the light of the full moon in a yellow Pacer, closed down Winterland in SFO with the Dead, took his bike over the Cascades to Wenatchee and slept on the roof of Mark Dorey’s shop. (The one he airbrushed the mural on) We stopped my Harriet and Johns on the way back. When George moved back to KC and I transferred to TESC in Olympia. I spent a summer working in KC when George and Scott lived at the 31st & Campbell house. Flying home for my Sister’s wedding, I was at the Seattle airport and found Harriett waiting on the same plane... because it was just after Mother’s Day and something terrible had happened to George. I remember being in his room at the hospital, playing his music on cassette tapes and strumming my fingers on his arm with my eyes closed. One day, when I opened my eyes, George was looking right in my eyes. He had been in the coma for about 3 months. I remember trying to be calm as my heart was racing and I slowly told him what had happened and where he was. My life after that has never been the same. I still struggle.
My family lived across the street from George and I would visit several times a year from West Los Angeles where I was growing up. This was the explosive, magical 60's, the pre and early teens coming of age where everything was coming at us with relentless force and you either 'got it' or not at all. George was every bit the former! He was also the kid in all those fun kid movies with the basement full of magical stuff - unlike the movies, George really did make go-karts, stereos, art from every medium, music from any instrument. Racing the wind with abandon on a brakeless mini bike, grabbing a bumper to 'ski' icy streets in the winter, late night drives to the Ozarks house playing the latest Dan Hicks, Who, Stones, Doors, Dylan - George on the fiddle, me on the guitar. Always laughing, singing, talking about life, music, poetry, art, and the humanities - yeah, he was THAT kid in the movies you knew was deeper, more thoughtful, more creative, and would be the one with limitless possibilities. I got another chance to be with George in the late 70's when he visited me in Germany - the slightly older, more traveled, certainly a little deeper and wiser George where we talked late into the night of our respective life experiences - the world's problems - and the world's limitless beauty, and what may lie ahead for us. Ever the optimist, he left me then with that great smile, twinkling eyes, and knowing gaze that said it all. My eternal regret is that I never took the opportunity to thank him for those early years and how much that boyhood friendship meant to me. He was the best of us. Forever Young my friend!
Some of my best memories at Delta involve George, Thorne and yes you Harriet....I loved when he kissed my hand or when he gave me a wink and looked away whistling. He taught me compassion and kindness and to make sure I went and looked for him when he got too quiet....he was always up to something! And yes you guessed it, when I found him is when he grinned, winked and oh so casually looked away....
I only knew George after his accident. I loved reading Davey's letter that described so many things that I had not heard since associating with this Clan.I remember George J's smile & laugh while sharing a beer. Boy has he joined up again with some wild ones .....the adventures continue.
I've been following the wonderful posts and memories from all. George you are SO loved. And seeing more of your art makes me smile...thank you George and all!
My dear friend and runnin partner, George J Hawley. A great friend, like a brother to Me. We had some really great times. I still remember rowing the skiff,as fast as we could in the roughest water possible. My first sailing adventure was with George, 40 mph winds in 4 ft. waves on a sunfish. we loved to ride a wave as long as possible, great times living life on the edge.
George will be truly missed by everyone who knew him.
rest easy bro.
George will be truly missed by everyone who knew him.
rest easy bro.
I first met George about 35 years ago when I went to Kansas City to attend Judy and Charlie's wedding, and stayed in the wonderful Hawley home, where the wedding was taking place.. Dave and Thorne were so generous and gracious, but it was the interaction with George that had a profound impact.
He was always at the center of the action, whether singing around the piano, or enjoying a joke around the pool. We were also fortunate enough to celebrate his 50th birthday with him at Snohomish Chalet. There were lots of laughs (Charlie was great at making George laugh!), good cheer, George was so very present, and he had a way of making us all feel so special. May his next adventure be extraordinary, as he certainly was. Fad and Tommy
He was always at the center of the action, whether singing around the piano, or enjoying a joke around the pool. We were also fortunate enough to celebrate his 50th birthday with him at Snohomish Chalet. There were lots of laughs (Charlie was great at making George laugh!), good cheer, George was so very present, and he had a way of making us all feel so special. May his next adventure be extraordinary, as he certainly was. Fad and Tommy
George was 15 when I first met him in KC in 1970 for Harriet & John's wedding. He was a free spirit, living up to his pre- billing by Charlie. A beautiful human being, a product of the '70s. My favorite memories:
George on his unicycle, and he and your dad Dave C carving a totem pole from a dead tree in their backyard off Ward Parkway. The neighbors were delighted by the artistic contribution to the stately residential enclave.
Hope John and he are side by side, looking down. Bill Bowman and Ann Gushurst
George on his unicycle, and he and your dad Dave C carving a totem pole from a dead tree in their backyard off Ward Parkway. The neighbors were delighted by the artistic contribution to the stately residential enclave.
Hope John and he are side by side, looking down. Bill Bowman and Ann Gushurst
Georgie George George, my beloved Uncle George. Since we both had the good fortune of being such immediate parts of mom's (Harriett) life, I got to spend quite a bit of time with you over the years, particularly as a child. You were such a nice pal to have, unhurried and so present, truly tuned into me as a child, observant, curious, and engaged in the world around you despite your limitations. You brought such a sense of ease and lightheartedness to those around you, always smiling with an undeterred sense of humor. Allegedly, you and I even developed our own special language to speak together.
I have vivid memories of being in the back of the van with you, my mom, and grandma Thorne listening to Simon and Garfunkel or The Grateful Dead together, you singing right along. I can see us on our way to browse antique shops in Everett, going to the pumpkin patch and animal petting zoo, Grandma trying to find a good live Blues or Jazz spot to take you to, us sitting out back on the patio at those riverside cafes in Snohomish, and going to the fish and chips shop on Main Street. There was even an impressive feat by your determined sister taking us camping at the city park in the rain. I only had time with you post accident, but knew the ultimate adventurer George through stories and I'm sure my teenage wannabe "hippie" years were really wanting to just be like young George.
My time at the chalet even had a sense of wonder; the huge grassy lawn and long driveway entrance, Swiss Alps styling and gazebo, some sort of interesting live animals living at the house by the back parking lot, and Camp Careless which felt like a true camping retreat far removed. As a little girl, I always hoped my parents would move to Snohomish so we could live in one of those beautiful old Victorian homes, have a green lawn with a willow tree out front, and be close to you and Grandma. You were a real friend and a clear part of my happy childhood. Thank you for the happy calm you brought to my life. You were the ultimate example that life is not material, it is spiritual.
Love eternal, Audrey
I have vivid memories of being in the back of the van with you, my mom, and grandma Thorne listening to Simon and Garfunkel or The Grateful Dead together, you singing right along. I can see us on our way to browse antique shops in Everett, going to the pumpkin patch and animal petting zoo, Grandma trying to find a good live Blues or Jazz spot to take you to, us sitting out back on the patio at those riverside cafes in Snohomish, and going to the fish and chips shop on Main Street. There was even an impressive feat by your determined sister taking us camping at the city park in the rain. I only had time with you post accident, but knew the ultimate adventurer George through stories and I'm sure my teenage wannabe "hippie" years were really wanting to just be like young George.
My time at the chalet even had a sense of wonder; the huge grassy lawn and long driveway entrance, Swiss Alps styling and gazebo, some sort of interesting live animals living at the house by the back parking lot, and Camp Careless which felt like a true camping retreat far removed. As a little girl, I always hoped my parents would move to Snohomish so we could live in one of those beautiful old Victorian homes, have a green lawn with a willow tree out front, and be close to you and Grandma. You were a real friend and a clear part of my happy childhood. Thank you for the happy calm you brought to my life. You were the ultimate example that life is not material, it is spiritual.
Love eternal, Audrey
I met George when i moved to America in 1998. He was charming and full of joy. I always enjoyed visiting him or seeing him comes to visit. He enjoyed music and he will carry a tune by blowing a whistle. He was just full of life. I am blessed to be knowing George. Thank you for showing me love. I love you and i will miss you! We love you but God love you more...continue to rest in peace uncle George.
George - you showed us that life is beautiful and that all that is needed is the ability to give and receive love unconditionally. No words are even needed - just a smile of pure joy, eyes of compassion, and a sense of humor. George, you are a true example and an inspiration to spread our light and love to the world in our own unique capacity. Thank you for blessing us all. So much love to you on your next adventure.
I met George when Matt and I were dating in the '70's--he was quite a force! Later, it was getting to know his whole family (when I married into the Gray part) that it was clear that the Hawley spirit itself was a force, and all of the Hawley clan really enjoyed life. It also seemed they all saw and valued that George especially embodied a joie de vivre with zeal and panache--he seemed to have a double dose of it! He expressed that in everything he did through his whole life. Sending love to everyone--
Although I only had the good fortune to visit and interact with George but a few times, he really left a lasting impression: warm, effervescent, cheerful--almost jolly, gentle--and man, did he make and keep eye-contact! The photos and tributes from Sweet Caet not only confirmed my impressions but described a truly, charismatic, admirable, human being. I wish that I had, somehow, connected with George a good deal more than I did. Rest easy George,
Steve
Steve
George, may you find great joy in this next step. Just as you shared your fears and laughter, your courage and faith, so shall you be welcomed into Heaven. I remember you, all those years ago, laughing and running through the house as a kid with Roger chasing you. Whatever you must have done I do not know but I’m pretty sure Roger will remind you now that you are together! I also remember Cliff and John getting you into the boat when we were at Mercer Island. You truly were courageous and patient with us. You will be remembered and missed. Bon Voyage my friend.
Dear GEORGE,
I never met you. But somehow I felt your spirit. Having spend quite some special time with the Morton family, I heard your stories. I read the letters you wrote to your dad being on a trip and I saw your drawings. You have left a legacy dear George. Here is the hug I always wanted to give you. I know for sure you will receive it. Much love sent your way, ANKE
I never met you. But somehow I felt your spirit. Having spend quite some special time with the Morton family, I heard your stories. I read the letters you wrote to your dad being on a trip and I saw your drawings. You have left a legacy dear George. Here is the hug I always wanted to give you. I know for sure you will receive it. Much love sent your way, ANKE
George will always be remembered as being fearless. Maybe to a fault. An example would be his desire to always try to beat his record time driving down to the lake in his VW squareback. Scared the hell out of me many times. My lake stories are to many to write down here but will be forever etched in my memory. George and I had a great adventure in 1973. We were going to hitchhike around the world! No small feat but that was George. Always thinking big and no challenge was to big for him. Here is my take on that adventure:
George and I set out to hitchhike around the world in the summer of 1973 after graduation. I'm sure it was concocted in the basement of his house in a cloud of smoke. Anyway one day we stuck our thumbs out on East bound I 70 and off we went. A month later we were landing in Europe. Stuck our thumb out and headed South. A couple of weeks later we were in Morocco. Again stuck our thumb out on any road going East. Unfortunately Israel thought it was a good idea to bomb Egypt at that time. We were evacuated from North Africa and shipped back to Europe. Now wearing local garb because our backpacks were stolen from us in Morocco everyone thought George was French and I was German. Had something to do with our unique physique. Next thing I know we were in Greece during a military coup d'etat. Anyway because of the delays and change in travel plans George and I split up in Greece. I went to Switzerland and George continued East to India where he got peace of mind through mind altering pharmaceuticals. I've had a lot of worldly experiences and adventures but this was a life changing event for me. Thank you George for your friendship and love. The world will miss you.
George and I set out to hitchhike around the world in the summer of 1973 after graduation. I'm sure it was concocted in the basement of his house in a cloud of smoke. Anyway one day we stuck our thumbs out on East bound I 70 and off we went. A month later we were landing in Europe. Stuck our thumb out and headed South. A couple of weeks later we were in Morocco. Again stuck our thumb out on any road going East. Unfortunately Israel thought it was a good idea to bomb Egypt at that time. We were evacuated from North Africa and shipped back to Europe. Now wearing local garb because our backpacks were stolen from us in Morocco everyone thought George was French and I was German. Had something to do with our unique physique. Next thing I know we were in Greece during a military coup d'etat. Anyway because of the delays and change in travel plans George and I split up in Greece. I went to Switzerland and George continued East to India where he got peace of mind through mind altering pharmaceuticals. I've had a lot of worldly experiences and adventures but this was a life changing event for me. Thank you George for your friendship and love. The world will miss you.
George always got his meaning across. He gave the best hugs and loved taking his teeth out ---then he would laugh...I remember his laugh! Rest In Peace George
George will always be a huge part of the special memories, many laughs and inspiration he has given all his Delta Family members. The adventures we heard about through writings, Mama Thorne and sweet Sis Harriett gave us a chance to really appreciate this man and his delightful character. Thank you George for the 20+ years I got to share with you. It's been an honor my friend. Bless your heart...Lynn
Leave a Tribute
Recent Tributes
To George!
I met George in 1977 before accident on Mercer Island at John and Harriett .George played the piano.Later I have been to birthday party in Washington and was always visiting with Harriett when I was in Seattle and loved George’s fun laughter.Year 2000 we were all in Park City and we were dancing with George in his wheelchair we all had fun, I shall miss Georgia with his smiling face.-----for Lotte Bowman by Harriett
I met George in 1977 before accident on Mercer Island at John and Harriett .George played the piano.Later I have been to birthday party in Washington and was always visiting with Harriett when I was in Seattle and loved George’s fun laughter.Year 2000 we were all in Park City and we were dancing with George in his wheelchair we all had fun, I shall miss Georgia with his smiling face.-----for Lotte Bowman by Harriett
I am Blanca Verlinde, Nurse the took care of George for over 20 plus years! At DRC Snohomish WA
Yes! George everything is “well”, in heaven along with your loving mom Thorn, who was the greatest mom you ever had, I became George Nurse for over 23 years. You made me laugh, you were the best. Set in his routines, you love DRC the best.I never forget your trip to Hawaii. But you decided to come back earlier then plan, to your home. All the Caregivers knew you well. Your Mom took piano lessons from my son, Eric Verlinde. So when my son performed, you be there in the Audience. Was nice to see you there. You love music. Thorn always invited us, For dinner. . Thorn and Charles cooked us a great dinner. Your family show so much love to you, eg. to continue active in your drawings, outings, I was privilege to gone to a Birthday Celebration . Art drove your Van. You had so much fun, with your family, You always brought smile to the Staff, whenever you get upset. I asked you, to do the “Donald Duck” impression . And the made you laugh. Never forget one day, you were waiting for breakfast, in B2? You hear a joke, your roommate was telling. You laughed so hard, your dentures ejected out your mouth, across 8 feet, against the widow glass, one tooth chipped. We all including you had tears laughing to the point of coughing. I know God chose a perfect place for you to go. I was heartbroken. But I know was best for you. Had not seen you since my last day of work 8/20/2019. As I Retired. It was a pleasure taken care of you. You brought joy My life. And though me to live in the moment, till I see you again! You are free from discomfort and having the adventure of the rest of eternity. Blanca Verlinde. Prayers to loved ones left here. Harriet
When the unthinkable happens it is a heartbreak, but somehow George found a way to use it as an opportunity
He revealed to many of us that the essence of who he was in the past was still the essence of who he was in his present self.
His curiosity, his creativity, his caring nature - and his sometimes impish and comic nature ... those were all very present throughout his entire life.
I’m lucky to have known him and it’s my belief he has found peace and contentment ... and possibly some mischief to get into!
He revealed to many of us that the essence of who he was in the past was still the essence of who he was in his present self.
His curiosity, his creativity, his caring nature - and his sometimes impish and comic nature ... those were all very present throughout his entire life.
I’m lucky to have known him and it’s my belief he has found peace and contentment ... and possibly some mischief to get into!
Gallery
warm days on The Boardwalk of the Snohomish Chalet under gazebos from Harriett.

George shows off his catch at the great Baja Trip of 1979

Page from a notebook- apparently "processing" a dream

This has been a treasured totem for me my entire life. David Kirby Circa 1973

Submitted with great love by Melissa Kirby, Lake Leelanau. Circa 1973

Front page of book of art made for 60th birthday- following 22 photos are pre accident and then post accident.

George's signature character

What is happening here?

Recent stories
"You've got to meet my son George..."
I met the lovely lady with the chain hanging from her glasses while she told the piano player to "shove on over for a duet" ... and told me "You have to meet George." I had been employed for about 2 weeks at the Snohomish Chalet. The following Monday it was "all hands on board" as an arts/crafts activity was about to happen so I joined in, getting to meet more residents. A flirtatious gentleman named Dave was sitting at a table smiling at me, 'the new girl', and I walked over, asked him what he was making..."Oh! Well I'm making a BONG for my friend George!" And THAT was my first into to the man I spent the next 20+ years laughing with. FYI: crayola clay does NOT make for a bong but no matter, it never would have any use inside the Chalet...that I KNOW OF!!!! Now that I think about it, the Camp Careless fire scent may have smelled a bit different at times! I just love you George.
The Music of George Hawley
Like many of us, George was fascinated with music through what happened in the 60s. We took a couple stabs at collaborating and creating a distinctive sound. The first time we were 18-19 years old and weren’t yet proficient on our instruments. For the short term we devised gimmicks, like playing only the black keys. One weekend, George, Brian Champion, Mark Bemueller and I went down to the lake and played one song over and over until it became deliriously funny. “Oh baby please don’t go, oh baby please don’t go, oh baby please don’t go back to New Orleans, you know I love you so”. I started getting a clue about chord progressions from Beatle song books. At some point James McVay came through town and showed George how to play ‘Blackbird’ with the 2 string scales and fingerpicking. This sent us off into a whole new system that kept us occupied like monkeys until the next time James swung through town and dropped another clue on us. James McVay is the real-deal, our go-to guy.
I took off for San Diego and George went to Washington and the bay area. He shipped my bass guitar to me in San Diego with a present in the string compartment of the case. Much appreciated. I continued studying Paul McCartney bass playing while George took up the fiddle. About 4 years passed, I was living in an apartment in North Kansas City and had acquired a nice studio workhorse electric guitar. George showed up with his fiddle saying, “,.we’ve got to do this”. On my nylon string Harmony-guitar he demonstrated the traditional jazz progression from which a lot of jazz is derived. It had this flourishing Starlight Theatre quality. George had been developing some serious chops on the fiddle and boom. In matter of about 10 minutes, we’re an impressive swing jazz duo. We were raised in KC, must be in the DNA. We liked to play make believe Kansas City jazz men. On the advice of some actual Kansas City jazz players, I bought ‘Mickey Baker, Volume 1, Jazz and Hot Guitar’ at Luyben’s Music, which lays out all the magic modern jazz chords. Page one and you’re Joe Pass, almost.
The lease came up on my apartment and George was living at Campbell house, so he invited me to rent a room there. David said we could live there and play make believe KC jazz musicians as long as we converted the house back to a single-family home. The first night I stayed there, the Coates House burned down and George, being the property manager, left at 2:00 AM to go deal with it.
George borrowed a TEAC 4 track reel-to-reel tape player from Valentine Radford and we set about creating a new genre of music called ‘Bazz’, a hybrid of Blue Grass and jazz combined with imitation Indian Raga. George was a Grateful Dead fan and I was a Beatle freak, so we tossed that into the scouse. We were definitely on the same page as to the goal, which was to play before audiences full of hippie girls in Summer dresses, swaying like palm trees as we transported them to paradise via our spiritual sambas. It’s a noble aspiration. George was very art oriented and as such, said we should just approach music creation as art. John Lennon started out as an art student and it’s clear that he applied principles learned in oil painting, pen & ink etc. As in a painting, there is a backdrop. For us, this often took the form of a repeating (ostinato) riff or a maj7 two chord Caribbean sounding vamp. From there we would tastefully layer up Latin percussions and other parts to fill in the picture. To be sure a lot of it was crap. However, there were many tracks where we were successful at setting up the circumstance that allowed magic to instantiate. Sounds a bit like voodoo doesn’t it? Of interest is that we had an idea of what we wanted to do but what actually came out was a psychedelic Latin and ‘Island mode’ sound. George’s favorite state of mind and form of music was ‘Island mode’. Waterfalls, serenity, the soothing sound of waves playing tag with the shore, mangos, long haired ladies, sweet music.
Brazilian, Cuban and Jamaican threads run through the recordings. We took a stab at some traditional stuff but found it boring. Getting a groove going was the first priority, then if we were to add lyrics, we let the song tell us what it wanted to be about. At one session, we had a soul sound clicking along, so George, Brian Champion and I began pacing around the room while the music played, mumbling to ourselves saying whatever words came to mind. I thought I heard George say “There’s a lady on the sea”,“What did you just say?” , “There’s a lady on the scene”. Perfect, lets go. Brian and I put in some make-believe Motown back up singing and George laid down a rap song. Yes, George did a rap song in 1978 a year before Sugarhill Gang released, 'Rapper's Delight’, which was the point where Rap music went mainstream. Like the rap songs of today, George’s “Lady On the Scene” is profanity laced but quite funny. There’s also a lot of fast comedy before and after the songs throughout the recordings.
The time came when the TEAC 4 track had to be returned and the tapes went into a box, unheard since, by my estimate, late 1978. With the help of Jim Ward, I located a TEAC 4 track reel-to-reel and you can now hear George in the audio section of this site. The process of preserving George’s music to infinitude digital format is in progress and you’re just not going to believe it.
I took off for San Diego and George went to Washington and the bay area. He shipped my bass guitar to me in San Diego with a present in the string compartment of the case. Much appreciated. I continued studying Paul McCartney bass playing while George took up the fiddle. About 4 years passed, I was living in an apartment in North Kansas City and had acquired a nice studio workhorse electric guitar. George showed up with his fiddle saying, “,.we’ve got to do this”. On my nylon string Harmony-guitar he demonstrated the traditional jazz progression from which a lot of jazz is derived. It had this flourishing Starlight Theatre quality. George had been developing some serious chops on the fiddle and boom. In matter of about 10 minutes, we’re an impressive swing jazz duo. We were raised in KC, must be in the DNA. We liked to play make believe Kansas City jazz men. On the advice of some actual Kansas City jazz players, I bought ‘Mickey Baker, Volume 1, Jazz and Hot Guitar’ at Luyben’s Music, which lays out all the magic modern jazz chords. Page one and you’re Joe Pass, almost.
The lease came up on my apartment and George was living at Campbell house, so he invited me to rent a room there. David said we could live there and play make believe KC jazz musicians as long as we converted the house back to a single-family home. The first night I stayed there, the Coates House burned down and George, being the property manager, left at 2:00 AM to go deal with it.
George borrowed a TEAC 4 track reel-to-reel tape player from Valentine Radford and we set about creating a new genre of music called ‘Bazz’, a hybrid of Blue Grass and jazz combined with imitation Indian Raga. George was a Grateful Dead fan and I was a Beatle freak, so we tossed that into the scouse. We were definitely on the same page as to the goal, which was to play before audiences full of hippie girls in Summer dresses, swaying like palm trees as we transported them to paradise via our spiritual sambas. It’s a noble aspiration. George was very art oriented and as such, said we should just approach music creation as art. John Lennon started out as an art student and it’s clear that he applied principles learned in oil painting, pen & ink etc. As in a painting, there is a backdrop. For us, this often took the form of a repeating (ostinato) riff or a maj7 two chord Caribbean sounding vamp. From there we would tastefully layer up Latin percussions and other parts to fill in the picture. To be sure a lot of it was crap. However, there were many tracks where we were successful at setting up the circumstance that allowed magic to instantiate. Sounds a bit like voodoo doesn’t it? Of interest is that we had an idea of what we wanted to do but what actually came out was a psychedelic Latin and ‘Island mode’ sound. George’s favorite state of mind and form of music was ‘Island mode’. Waterfalls, serenity, the soothing sound of waves playing tag with the shore, mangos, long haired ladies, sweet music.
Brazilian, Cuban and Jamaican threads run through the recordings. We took a stab at some traditional stuff but found it boring. Getting a groove going was the first priority, then if we were to add lyrics, we let the song tell us what it wanted to be about. At one session, we had a soul sound clicking along, so George, Brian Champion and I began pacing around the room while the music played, mumbling to ourselves saying whatever words came to mind. I thought I heard George say “There’s a lady on the sea”,“What did you just say?” , “There’s a lady on the scene”. Perfect, lets go. Brian and I put in some make-believe Motown back up singing and George laid down a rap song. Yes, George did a rap song in 1978 a year before Sugarhill Gang released, 'Rapper's Delight’, which was the point where Rap music went mainstream. Like the rap songs of today, George’s “Lady On the Scene” is profanity laced but quite funny. There’s also a lot of fast comedy before and after the songs throughout the recordings.
The time came when the TEAC 4 track had to be returned and the tapes went into a box, unheard since, by my estimate, late 1978. With the help of Jim Ward, I located a TEAC 4 track reel-to-reel and you can now hear George in the audio section of this site. The process of preserving George’s music to infinitude digital format is in progress and you’re just not going to believe it.
George J, Wow, what can I say?! He was unique, athletic, fun, talented, so cool, and MY cousin! He collected unique friends, and hobbies. He came up with different things to do. Like using his folks’ video camera to create a movie where little tablets magically became people. There, of course, was a whole story behind that.
He was an impressive athlete. All his movements were smooth, and fluid. He was agile, and (to me) had unbelievable balance. He could have been a Walenda. He liked his unicycle, so high you had to climb a ladder to get on it. I learned at an early age I couldn’t follow George J unless he wanted me to. I have poor balance, and got myself into a few tough situations because I tried. He’d jump over a bad place in a trail, climb up a rock ledge, or walk a skinny log across a creek. Not me. Though, when he wanted he could get me to do stuff. Like high tail it across the nature trail through Georgene’s and into the side entrance of the cave, at night, to scare the others who had left earlier. For the most part I could trust George J, but he was a tease. I’m not prissy and have handled my share of snakes, turtles, frogs etc. I did learn to respect them for what they are when George J told me his pet box turtle didn’t bite. Held his hand in front of the turtle and nothing, but when I did it, it clamped down on the skin between my thumb and forefinger. Davey was able to pry the jaw open and it hardly left a mark. Just the tip of the turtle’s mouth had broken the skin, and probably wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t dangled him from my hand.
Starting 6th grade George started school with me, sometimes in the same class. He quickly became cool. And even elevated himself to super cool. I had plenty of friends, but I was never cool. We have lots of family that were cool in school but he was super cool. He was always doing things that could get himself in to trouble, but would manage to get away unharmed. At 14 he and his friend John Jenkins borrowed John’s parent’s car. They didn’t get past Meyer’s Circle before wiping out all the bushes around half the circle, and breaking the axel on the car. They immediately abandoned the car, though John did get in trouble for it. George repelled down the side of the then Alameda Plaza. Got caught but oh so cool. He frustrated the janitors but thrilled the students by shutting himself in the guys’ bathroom and painting his trucking character murals on the wall. He would slip out the window shimmy up the wall to the roof and escape. Oh, so very cool!! He could play any stringed instrument. Even if he had never played it before, he could figure it out. He would get together with anybody that wanted and jam. Summer at the Lake of the Ozarks with Jimmy, Charlie, and George J jamming in the evening is one of my favorite memories. Drifting in the boat under a full moon, nothing like it! Like I said talented and super cool.
After high school George took off around the world, and then traveled around the US on his antique BMW. George J liked the lighter bike because he could do crazy dangerous tricks with them. He used to tell me crazy wonderful scary stories about his travels. My senior year at MU he started in a music program, and moved into an apartment a couple blocks from mine. He told me the difference between a violin and a fiddle was that you tucked the violin under your chin, and rested the fiddle on your arm or shoulder. He never got used to tucking it under his chin. He always had an interesting group of people that would come by his place. Archie, I think that was his name was a frequent visitor. A great big redhead that kept his bullwhip on the dash of his truck. He looked and appeared a great deal more menacing then he really was. He treated me fine, and taught me how to crack that bullwhip.
Sometime along the way George J started calling me Sweet Caet, not cool Caet. Some of our classmates were amazed that I was his cousin. I always figured it was his oh so cool adventurous personality, when I was relatively quiet. After his accident, when we were at a family function, he signaled that he wanted me to come closer, I took his hand and he called me Sweet Caet. I knew then that he still remembered, and the connection was still there.
I have so many memories of him tumbling through my mind. I had to write down some of them.
Love to all my family, Sweet Caet
He was an impressive athlete. All his movements were smooth, and fluid. He was agile, and (to me) had unbelievable balance. He could have been a Walenda. He liked his unicycle, so high you had to climb a ladder to get on it. I learned at an early age I couldn’t follow George J unless he wanted me to. I have poor balance, and got myself into a few tough situations because I tried. He’d jump over a bad place in a trail, climb up a rock ledge, or walk a skinny log across a creek. Not me. Though, when he wanted he could get me to do stuff. Like high tail it across the nature trail through Georgene’s and into the side entrance of the cave, at night, to scare the others who had left earlier. For the most part I could trust George J, but he was a tease. I’m not prissy and have handled my share of snakes, turtles, frogs etc. I did learn to respect them for what they are when George J told me his pet box turtle didn’t bite. Held his hand in front of the turtle and nothing, but when I did it, it clamped down on the skin between my thumb and forefinger. Davey was able to pry the jaw open and it hardly left a mark. Just the tip of the turtle’s mouth had broken the skin, and probably wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t dangled him from my hand.
Starting 6th grade George started school with me, sometimes in the same class. He quickly became cool. And even elevated himself to super cool. I had plenty of friends, but I was never cool. We have lots of family that were cool in school but he was super cool. He was always doing things that could get himself in to trouble, but would manage to get away unharmed. At 14 he and his friend John Jenkins borrowed John’s parent’s car. They didn’t get past Meyer’s Circle before wiping out all the bushes around half the circle, and breaking the axel on the car. They immediately abandoned the car, though John did get in trouble for it. George repelled down the side of the then Alameda Plaza. Got caught but oh so cool. He frustrated the janitors but thrilled the students by shutting himself in the guys’ bathroom and painting his trucking character murals on the wall. He would slip out the window shimmy up the wall to the roof and escape. Oh, so very cool!! He could play any stringed instrument. Even if he had never played it before, he could figure it out. He would get together with anybody that wanted and jam. Summer at the Lake of the Ozarks with Jimmy, Charlie, and George J jamming in the evening is one of my favorite memories. Drifting in the boat under a full moon, nothing like it! Like I said talented and super cool.
After high school George took off around the world, and then traveled around the US on his antique BMW. George J liked the lighter bike because he could do crazy dangerous tricks with them. He used to tell me crazy wonderful scary stories about his travels. My senior year at MU he started in a music program, and moved into an apartment a couple blocks from mine. He told me the difference between a violin and a fiddle was that you tucked the violin under your chin, and rested the fiddle on your arm or shoulder. He never got used to tucking it under his chin. He always had an interesting group of people that would come by his place. Archie, I think that was his name was a frequent visitor. A great big redhead that kept his bullwhip on the dash of his truck. He looked and appeared a great deal more menacing then he really was. He treated me fine, and taught me how to crack that bullwhip.
Sometime along the way George J started calling me Sweet Caet, not cool Caet. Some of our classmates were amazed that I was his cousin. I always figured it was his oh so cool adventurous personality, when I was relatively quiet. After his accident, when we were at a family function, he signaled that he wanted me to come closer, I took his hand and he called me Sweet Caet. I knew then that he still remembered, and the connection was still there.
I have so many memories of him tumbling through my mind. I had to write down some of them.
Love to all my family, Sweet Caet