Obituary for George Albert Fruhling (1949–2023)
For those who haven’t already heard, my father, George Albert Fruhling, died unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago on October 2, 2023. While there are many things I would like to share eventually—stories and memories and anecdotes and lessons learned from my dad—for now I’ll simply share his obituary that I wrote for him, which is being printed in our hometown newspaper, The Vacaville Reporter, and in the local newspaper in Cedar City, Utah, where he had been living for the past 10 years.
George Albert Fruhling (1949–2023)
Obituary for George Albert Fruhling (1949–2023)
George Albert Fruhling, 74, died unexpectedly on Monday, October 2, 2023 in the Three Peaks Recreation Area near Cedar City, Utah. The son of Rev. Arthur F. Fruhling and Velma Viola (Johnson) Fruhling, George was born in Oakland, California on February 7, 1949 and was raised in his hometown of Vacaville, California.
From an early age, George was interested in and enjoyed music, mountains, and electronics. Growing up, he and his immediate family would spend a month each summer camping and hiking in Tuolumne Meadows in the high country of Yosemite National Park. He played the organ and sang in the choir of the Community Presbyterian Church of Vacaville as a teenager, and was a member of the “Fruhling Harmoniers,” a choral group led by his mother Velma.
George was also a licenced amateur radio operator, call sign WA6SOP, having earned his FCC amateur radio license around 1962. He later continued his training in electronics by serving for four years in the United States Air Force after high school (Vacaville High School, class of 1967) and earning his FCC General Radiotelephone Operator License (GROL), which led to a lifelong career in electronics—first as a technician for Sierra Microwave in Vacaville, California, where he loved traveling into the mountains, often in the winter snow, to maintain microwave communications towers and equipment; as an electrical technician for the Ball Metal beverage can factory in Fairfield, California; as an electrical technician for Orrick Electric in Dixon, California; as an electrical engineer for Reynolds Metals in Rocklin, California; and ultimately as a special project engineer, once again for Ball Corporation at their corporate office in Broomfield, Colorado, from which he retired in 2014 after more than 25 years of service to the company. After his time in the Air Force, George was also briefly a manager at the Sandwich Garden at the Nut Tree in Vacaville, California.
In January of 1971, George married his first wife, Suzanne Arlene Forssell, with whom he had two children—a son, Zachary Ryan Fruhling, in 1978 and a daughter, Amber Nicole Fruhling, in 1981. George and Suzanne divorced in 1985, after which he met and subsequently married his beloved second wife, Lucretia Ann (Dore) Fruhling. George and Lucretia were married on June 28, 1986 and remained married for 37 years, having renewed their vows for their 25th wedding anniversary in 2011. George was a beloved father to his two children, Zachary Ryan Fruhling and Amber Nicole Fruhling, and a beloved stepfather to his three stepchildren, Eric Joseph Maxam, Shane Tyler Russell, and Desirae Dawn Russell-Noble.
Later in life, George had the opportunity to pursue other lifelong interests, such as fishing, working on a compilation of poetry together with his brother, Arthur Gene Fruhling, and a lifelong passion for yard work. He was known for having an immaculately kept and manicured property, complete with home-built additions and structures, from gazebos to sheds to guest houses. Never one to leave a project incomplete, he saw every project, both professional and personal, through to 100 percent.
George Albert Fruhling was preceded in death by his father and mother, Rev. Arthur F. Fruhling and Velma Viola (Johnson) Fruhling; his two half-sisters, Marion Bertha Fruhling and Dorothy Ceceilia Fruhling; his grandparents Wilhelm (William) F. Fruhling, Bertha (Wayland) Fruhling, Harrill Dean Johnson, Sr., and Ethel Mary (King) Johnson; his uncles William A. Fruhling, Jr., Charles A. Fruhling, Julius Frederick Fruhling, Albert Gustave Fruhling, Edward Charles Fruhling, George Henry Fruehling, and Harrill Dean Johnson, Jr.; his aunts Catherine Henrietta Schuhly (Fruhling) Miller, Emma Eleanor Fruhling, Bertha Amelia Fruhling, Millie Luisa Fruhling, Dorothy Johnson, and Margaret Johnson; and his cousins Emma Nelson, Elmer Henry Fruhling, Claudine Fruhling, Lloyd Herbert Fruhling, Lucille C. Fruhling, Katherine B. Fruehling, George Sprecher Fruehling, Jr., Lydia Bertha Miller, Henrietta Miller, Philip Miller, Jr., Laura Miller, and Homer Theophilus Miller.
He is survived by his beloved wife Lucretia Ann (Dore) Fruhling; his siblings Velma Ardis (Fruhling) Marshall and Arthur Gene Fruhling; his two children Zachary Ryan Fruhling and Amber Nicole Fruhling; his three stepchildren Eric Joseph Maxam, Shane Tyler Russell, and Desirae Dawn Russell-Noble; his grandchildren Garrett Alexander Ly, Gabriel Bennett Ly, Gavin Elliott Ly, and Lillianna Annabelle Ly; his step-grandchildren Caleb James Noble, Bryce Giani Noble, Jackson Mason Russell, Anthony Joseph Maxam, Abigail Elizabeth Maxam, Matthew Lee Maxam, Rachael Ann Maxam, Nathanael David Stanley Williams, Ashlea Nicole Williams, and Natalea Rose (Williams) Jones; his first wife, Suzanne Arlene Forssell; his cousins Karen Adelia (Johnson) Johnsen and Linda Lee (Johnson) Forssell; his nieces Laurie Denise (Marshall) VandeStreek, LaVerne Deanna (Marshall) Widmer, Anita Darlene (Marshall) DeBoard, Heather Lyn (Fruhling) Laumer, and Heidi Louise Fruhling; his nephews Daniel Eugene Marshall, Timothy Allan Marshall, and Wayne Arthur Marshall; his sister-in-law Maria Elena (Dore) Valente; his niece and nephews by marriage, Alan Richard “Rick” Brant, Jr., Michelle Elizabeth Valente, and Marshall Lawrence Valente; along with countless other extended relatives, colleagues, loved ones, neighbors, and friends.
A memorial service for George Albert Fruhling will be held at the Sonrise Christian Church located at 6843 W 1800 N, Cedar City, Utah, on Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 11:00 AM. His ashes will be interred in his hometown of Vacaville, California at a later date to be determined. The memorial service will be officiated by Pastor Jim Vasquez of Sonrise Christian Church.
Throughout his life, George Albert Fruhling always had a loving, positive, and encouraging word for those around him, along with a genuine smile, a hearty laugh, and a quick-witted “dad joke.” He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him in the course of his 74 years, 7 months, and 25 days on Earth. May he finally rest in peace.
