George Harris Manchester

George Harris Manchester passed away November 11, 2014 at the age of 85. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Louise Manchester; his three daughters, Karen, Kathy, Sue; their husbands, Kirk, Sean, and Ron; and his six grandchildren, Shantelle, Jason, Isabelle, Sadie, Nicholas, and Michael. Born in Anacortes, Washington to George Manchester and Ruth (Griffin) Manchester, George was an only child. His father was the owner of Manchester Saw Shop and an established politician in Bellingham. His mother was a schoolteacher and a very adventurous woman. Not only was she the first female to swim across Deception Pass but she also summited Mount Baker while pregnant with George. Ruth passed away when George was thirteen from pregnancy complications. After graduating from Bellingham High School, George joined the United States Air Force and served as an airplane mechanic in Mississippi and Alaska. While on watch in Alaska, he would frequently get bored and began practicing photography by creating open shutter portraits of himself playing cards. Sergeant Manchester attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan after his service and graduated with a B.S. Degree in Industrial Education. It was during his college career that George met his first wife Alma. After college his first daughter, Karen, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. A few years later Alma passed away. George and Karen moved to Bellevue, WA where he worked as a traveling field sales manager for DeWalt. Louise was working as a flight attendant for West Coast Airlines and George would frequently be a passenger on her planes. Unfortunately, he had problems with flight sickness but luckily Louise was prepared and would hand him a sick bag each time he boarded the plane. Less than a year after they started dating, George and Louise married, and were transferred to California by DeWalt where his second daughter, Katherine, was born. A few years later work moved them to Oahu, Hawaii where their youngest daughter, Susan, was born. After moving around a few more times, the Manchester family ended up back in Bellingham, WA where they have remained for the past thirty-two years. George started his own business, Quality Trailers, which he and Sue ran together up until 2000 at which point George “retired” (it took about two years from the retirement announcement until he actually stopped working). George was an avid skier. He was the president of the Bellingham Republican Party and he continued to work with students at the Bellingham Technical College. George continued to live an active life until his final days. He enjoyed writing letters, volunteering with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Department, and wood working out in his garage. He spent time arranging, rearranging, and then arranging his things again to guarantee maximum organization. He loved doing anything he could to make his wife’s life as comfortable as possible. His family and community will miss this amazing man dearly as he continues onto his next journey. A Funeral Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bellingham, November 20, 2014 at 10:00AM.

George Harris Manchester

December 24, 1928 - November 11, 2014