They Live Among Us. George Powell

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1 November 20, 2018 They Live Among Us George Powell George Powell grew up on a farm near Montrose, Michigan. If you have lived in Pine Island Cove very long you probably know at least one of the four Powell families here in the Cove, all part of the Powell clan. George and his wife Nancy raised four sons, Larry, Roger, Greg, and Darwin. Three of those four sons have homes right here in Pine Island Cove with George. Nancy, his wife of 68 years, and the love of George s life died almost exactly three years ago, in November, George and Nancy Powell discovered Pine Island in 1969 when they bought a home on Clyde Street in Matlacha. 1

2 George and Nancy Fifty years ago Matlacha was very much different than it is today. It was really just a small fishing village then. George had been involved with real estate for a long time and he knew a good house when he saw one. He had a boat and did a lot of fishing. The fishing was great and the water was clear. Nancy liked to paint and took oil painting classes here on the island. Endless idyllic scenes provided her with inspiration for her paintings. They had great neighbors and they enjoyed parties and barbecues with them. Their son, Larry, discovered Pine Island Cove when visiting his folks. He and his wife, Linda, bought a place on Ladyfish first, then sold that and bought a place on Cobiac. George liked Pine Island Cove so much that he and 2

3 Nancy bought a place on the saltwater canal next to Larry, about 10 years ago. Darwin was the next to discover Pine Island, buying a home on Cobiac. Next to follow was Roger, who bought on Gulfgate in Gregory ended up buying in central Florida. But we need to step back in time a little to really get to know George. George and Darwin Powell During World War II, George was only 16 years old. Like many young men at the time George wanted to fight. He joined the Navy but he couldn t get the job he wanted. The Navy wanted him to be a torpedoman, but he didn t want that at all. George said he knew people. He arranged a discharge so he could join the Canadian armed forces. He signed up with the Canadians for the duration of the war. He wanted to be a paratrooper in the worst way. But all of the Canadian paratroopers had to be trained at Ft. Benning, in Georgia. 3

4 November 20, 2018 He had all his shots and was ready to go to Europe. By the time George and his unit were ready for the parachute training, the United States wasn't taking any more Canadians for training at Ft. Benning. Then the war ended in Europe. They decided they were going to send George s unit to Europe as occupation forces. That wouldn t involve any fighting so it didn t sound like much fun to George. So he signed up to go to the Pacific with the Canadians. He took jungle training and got a bunch of new shots. His unit was supposed to ship out from Vancouver, British Columbia. But then the war ended in the Pacific after the atom bombs were dropped. They were then going to send his unit back to Europe as occupation forces again. Like the United States, the Canadians were dismantling their armed forces after the war. Young men who were under 19 1/2 could get an 4

5 immediate honorable discharge. George took them up on it. George was very disappointed he didn t get to go to war as a paratrooper. Because of providence, destiny, fate, or divine intervention, call it what you will, George would not be jumping out of airplanes for the Canadians, or anyone else. Nor would the gods of war be spilling his blood on the fields of Europe, or the beaches of the South Pacific. In 1945, back home in Montrose, Michigan, after being discharged, George met a girl. It was a warm summer evening in Pulaski Park, not far from where he lived. Her name was Nancy and she was with her girlfriends, dancing and enjoying the balmy evening. Who could blame her for accepting an offer to dance from the tall, goodlooking young man? 5

George discovered that he had lived only two miles down the road from where Nancy grew up on a farm, one of a family of 15 kids. He was also from a farm family. They found they had much in common.

6 George discovered that he had lived only two miles down the road from where Nancy grew up on a farm, one of a family of 15 kids. He was also from a farm family. They found they had much in common. George and Nancy dated for two years. They went to movies and hung out with their friends at parties, danced, and finally married in Darwin, Greg, Roger, Larry, and George Not long after, the life fate had in store for George continued to unfold with the birth of the Powell s first son, Larry. And there was more happiness to come. Roger came next, then Greg, and finally, Darwin. Four wonderful sons for George and Nancy to raise. By now I expect George had begun to see that the road he and Nancy had started down several years ago was pretty nice, pretty nice indeed. 6

November 20, 2018 To provide for his growing family George worked several jobs over the years. He joined his brother-in-law in his aluminum siding business.

7 November 20, 2018 To provide for his growing family George worked several jobs over the years. He joined his brother-in-law in his aluminum siding business. George s outgoing personality and drive made him very good at sales. He worked as an aluminum siding salesman for about five years. Taking advantage of an opportunity, George moved his family to Little Rock, Arkansas to sell aluminum siding. But there wasn t much money in Arkansas at the time so George moved his family back to Montrose. Time marched on. Larry, Roger, and Greg went off to the service. By then, George was engaged in building homes. After his boys returned from the service they joined their dad in building houses. Darwin did as well. George went into business with a real estate broker. He opened several businesses during that time; Powell Home Modernizers, Jiffy Homes, Powell Realty, and others. His businesses 7

8 succeeded, and George became very successful. He employed 15 people. He had lots of sub-contractors, all good men. They worked 365 days per year. Around 1971, George decided it was time to get into real estate. He needed a license to do that. He hit the books and took the test. He failed with a score of 73 out of the needed 75. He studied more and failed again with a score of 74. He decided to get a little help so he took a real estate course from Eastern Michigan University. This time he passed with a score of 98. George was off to the races. George remembers all the good times he had with Nancy. He remembers one vacation they made to Acapulco, Mexico. They had hired a driver to show them some of the sights. One of the sights they wanted to see was John Wayne s mansion, high on a mountain overlooking the sea. 8

The Powell sons, Nancy and George. Their driver must have assumed these rich Americans must know John Wayne, so when they arrived at the gate to the mansion he honked his horn for admittance.

9 The Powell sons, Nancy and George. Their driver must have assumed these rich Americans must know John Wayne, so when they arrived at the gate to the mansion he honked his horn for admittance. John Wayne was not home, but the lady guest watching the mansion for Mr. Wayne perhaps also assumed these Americans knew John. In any event, she warmly welcomed them in and proceeded to give them a complete guided tour of the luxurious mansion. 9

10 She shared with them the information that Mr. Wayne had a ton of ice dumped in his pool every day to keep it cool. Following the tour, George thought that considering the royal treatment they had just received it might be a good idea to also visit Elizabeth Taylor s mansion on the other side of the mountain. Nancy rolled her eyes and firmly nixed that idea. In the summer months, George returns to Montrose, where he has a home on 30 acres along the Flint River. It is there that he welcomes the 43 kids, grandkids, and great grandkids that have come from the day George met Nancy in Pulaski Park. George always carries a picture of Nancy with him. He told me he misses her so much and he obviously takes pleasure in talking about what a wonderful woman she was. His pride in his four sons is also very obvious to anyone who knows George. At the end of the cul-de-sac on Cobiac Drive, there lives among us a 10

11 gentleman who is 92 years old. He enjoys the warm winters here in Pine Island Cove, and even more, enjoys the warm memories of his life with his one love, Nancy. Steve Russell 11

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