George N Cahill's Obituary
George Newton Cahill Jr.
A more pleasant, well mannered, and companionable soul one is not likely to meet. George Cahill lived a life of many fine things. As a father he was firm but incredibly kind. As a husband he was considerate and funny, a faithful and deeply loving man, born of an age when family wasn’t a unit but a value.
He was born September 5th 1922 in Jacksonville, Florida, the third of four children, to Mae Iverine Hettrick and George Newton Cahill Sr. He graduated from Redford Union High School in Detroit, Michigan and worked briefly for the Chrysler Tank Arsenal at the start of World War II before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1942. Based out of Mayport Naval Base in Jacksonville, FL, he served on naval sub chasers spotting enemy submarines along the Atlantic coast from the tip of Florida to the Carolinas. After being accepted into the Navy’s V2 Program, he studied Civil Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was honorably discharged in 1945 with the rank of Quartermaster 3rd Class and continued his studies for 2 more years. A week after earning his degree from Georgia Tech he married the love of his life, Mary Luisa Sayles, on June 13th 1948. After a two week honeymoon, he started his first job with Allied Chemical Corporation. In a career that spanned 38 years he went from running a one-man plant in Picketville, FL to Allied’s corporate headquarters in Morristown, NJ as Director of Facilities and Services.
He enjoyed and excelled at golf, which he played for 75 years. He and Mary Lou retired in 1986 to Safety Harbor, FL. The couple traveled the world extensively over the next 30 years and enjoyed time with the families of their eight children. George and Mary Lou were devoted to their church and volunteered with the St. Vincent DePaul Society. Both had always been avid photographers and George loved creating and editing family videos. They moved to a smaller place in a retirement community in Trinity, FL in 2001. George lost Mary Lou in March of 2011and eventually took up residence in Palm Harbor, FL. In 2024 he relocated to River Park Assisted Living in Little River, SC. In his last few days he was surrounded by his children and passed peacefully on Tuesday February 24th.
His survivors include his sister Sandy Roberts, brother Larry Cahill, and children George Cahill III, Susan Cahill-Williams, Michael Cahill, Christopher Cahill, Mary Klinefelter, Deborah Aguirre, Lisa Schwarz, as well as seventeen grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren.
He will join his beloved wife for interment at Trinity Memorial Gardens in Trinity, FL with military honors. Services will be held at Espiritu Santo Church in Safety Harbor, FL on Friday March 6th. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Vincent DePaul Society.
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