George A. Powless, 82, of Paw Paw, died early Friday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Rose Arbor Hospice, Kalamazoo. He was born May 24, 1942, in Anderson, Indiana, to Fred and Dorothy (Pritchard) Powless.
George was a graduate of Alexandria-Monroe High School, Alexandria, Indiana, and Purdue University, where he sang for five years with the Purdue Men’s Glee Club. Following graduation from Purdue, he married Sandra Phelps in South Bend, Indiana, on Aug. 7, 1965. Sandra preceded him in death in November 1990.
George retired from General Motors, having worked in Marion, Indiana, and Kalamazoo, Michigan.
George was a man of many talents. He was an avid gardener, woodworker, fisherman, singer, and was known to occasionally hunt a groundhog that kept getting into his vegetable garden. He was skilled at restoring old pieces of furniture to create something useful and had a special talent for rebuilding and tuning old pump organs. He could often be found in his barn tinkering on his antique tractors. George spent many hours sitting in his fishing boat contemplating the world around him. Once in a while he’d even catch some fish. He had a subtle sense of humor – a trait shared by several family members. George was a strong tenor soloist and for many years he sang in the Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church choir, South Haven, Michigan, and in the Paw Paw Community Chorus. He also served with Habitat for Humanity.
He is survived by two sons, Jeffrey (Sarah) Powless of Kalamazoo, and Douglas (Heather Sahli) Powless of Fayetteville, Pennsylvania; and one daughter, Leslie Ellen (Peter) Holt, Augusta, Michigan; seven grandchildren, Hannah Powless and Hollie Powless both of Kalamazoo, Lily Powless and Fenn Powless of Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, Nicole Powless (fiancé Alex Harvey) of Fountain Hills, Arizona, Brooke Holt and Emily Holt of Augusta, Michigan. He is also survived by daughter-in-law, Kelley Powless of Kalamazoo; and two sisters, Julie (Caesar) Gonzalez of Patterson, California, and Neva Schwartz of Geneva, Indiana; and sister-in-law Jan (Todd) Whelchel of Summitville, Indiana.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Sandra; and a brother, Edward Lee Powless.
The family will receive friends Friday, Oct. 25, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Adams Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 502 West Michigan Ave., Paw Paw. Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the funeral home, with visitation one hour before the service. Burial will follow immediately after the service at Wildey Cemetery, 42nd Street and County Road 374, Paw Paw.
Suggested memorials for George A. Powless may be made to the Sandra Powless Memorial Fund at the Van Buren District Library, Webster Memorial Branch, Decatur, Michigan; Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity; or Centrica Rose Arbor Hospice, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
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