Good-bye Grandfather George

Howdy!

It’s been two weeks and two days since Grandfather George — George Randall — passed away.  He was five weeks short of turning 99 years old.

I thought I’d dedicate this post to George and tell you a little about his adventurous life.

This picture off to the left was taken at our house in Los Angeles when George turned 90 years old.  The woman with him is George’s adopted daughter.

George is not a blood relative of ours,  But in the Native American Tradition of calling all of one’s elders Grandfather or Grandmother,  we addressed him as Grandfather.

Some time around 2000, George came to us looking for a place to live.  Although we didn’t have an extra room, we did have a fully stocked Motor Home.  Because he often told me that he did best as a loner, he was happy to claim the motor home as his own.  That began our fifteen or more years of enjoying George’s company.

George was American Indian from his father’s side of the family, I believe, and as a young man, he spent an adventurous life traveling across the country.  He used to tell me that he called this period of his life his “ho-bo” days.

But that life became boring to him, and he turned to mining in the desert of California.  Now, my husband and his brother had once been miners, and so George and my husband shared many stories with me of their mining days with me.

Off to the right here is a picture of George in 2015, at a family outing.  Looks like a cold day, doesn’t it?

George told me once that he was a loner, and although my husband and I often encouraged him to talk about himself, it was like trying to squeeze sap from the bark of a tree. 

He married and he loved his wife dearly, but there were no children from that marriage.  When she passed away, long before I knew George, George developed an interest in acting, and, since he lived in the LA area, that became the center of his life.

Off to the left here is another picture of George at the same family outing.

George loved acting, and it was his dream to help others learn the art and craft of acting.  There are many people today who enjoy film careers because of the classes that George gave at Celebrity Center, Church of Scientology, in Hollywood, CA.  He was proud of his accomplishments and the people that he helped to become actors and actresses.  I’ve tried to find a listing of all his films in his belongings, but so far, I have a very incomplete listing — and Googling it didn’t seem to help.  So let me tell you about some of the films and TV appearances that I know about.

 

Here is another family picture that includes George.  George was the old Indian man who fell over dead in the movie, “The Indian in the Cupboard.”  He also had a role in the movie, “Con-Air.”   Some of his TV appearances included roles in “Medicine Woman,” which was a popular show in the 1980’s and 1990’s.  What I’m hoping is that some of those actors who knew George’s acting career, might see this post and tell me a little about other roles that he enjoyed.

I first became friends with George in the late 1990’s, when my husband and I were working with some representatives of the Blackfeet on the Blackfeet Reservation to establish a literacy project.

George volunteered his time and efforts at helping with this project, and he made several trips to the Blackfeet reservation and was present at their Grand Opening.  His efforts and his willingness to help without asking for anything in return endeared him to mine and many others’ hearts.  And to this day, we will always be grateful for his help.

Here is a picture snapped at a book signing in 2010 in southern California.  There was a time when Grandfather George was taking many, many pictures.

When we moved to the East Coast, Grandfather George decided to come with us, since we all felt as though he had become part of the family.  Some things to know about George was that he was drug-free, had a good grip on his memory and loved to walk, although for about the last year, he no longer tried to negotiate any stairs.  He kept his mental capabilities in good order and really, up until the last month of his life, he was in good physical health.  As an aside, George told us once that he attributed his long life to the fact that he did not believe in doctors, and that he stayed away from them.  He was also drug-free.

The picture to the right here is probably the latest picture we have of George, taken when we all (including our dog) took a trip to Montana.

There will be a memorial service for George at Celebrity Center, Church of Scientology, in Hollywood, CA.  The exact time and day of the service is yet to be determined, but for any of you who live in the LA area, please feel free to contact the Church for more information on when that service will be.

In the words of L. Ron Hubbard, who was a good friend to George:

“Goodbye, our dear George,

Goodbye.

We’ll miss you, you know.

Let the body now

Draw away

To be consumed to ashes

And to dust

in earthly and in cleanly fire

To be no more, no more….

“Come friends,

George is all right

And he is gone.

We have our work

To do. And George has his.

He will be welcome there.

To Man!”

L. Ron Hubbard