George Reed Volker Sr. passed away on Monday, July 23, 2018, in relative comfort at the Bellingham Hospice House with members of his immediate family by his side. He was preceded in death by his former wife Jean (Coles) Volker and his second wife Dawn (Parnell) Volker and is survived by his sister Patricia (Volker) Baldwin of Issaquah, WA; his sons George Volker, Jr. of HI; Stephan Volker of CA; Jason Volker of Bellingham, WA; and his daughter Teresa (Volker) Wood of Olympia, WA.
George Reed Volker Sr. was born in Los Angeles, California in 1925 to George H. Volker and Edna (Wolfe) Volker. He graduated from University High School in West Los Angeles, California in 1943, and continued to be a proud alumnus of the school, to the extent that in 1998, at the age of 73, he drove 2400 miles round trip to attend his 55th high school reunion in Los Angeles.
After his high school graduation in the summer of 1943, George enlisted to fight in WWII and was accepted to the Army Air Corps. He was stationed at various army aircraft training bases around the US, eventually graduating to a 4-engine Bomber certification. He also spent time in B-17 & B-29 Bombers. Stationed in Labrador, Canada, he met his first wife, Jean Coles; he then returned to Los Angeles to attend UCLA and start a family after the war. George and Jean had two children together; George, Jr. and Stephan.
George Reed Volker Sr. continued his education by studying both at Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley, earning an M.A. in City & Regional Planning. George found employment in several positions of authority in City and County Planning Departments, including a role as the City Manager of Turlock CA. He moved from Modesto CA to Santa Rosa CA, where he met his second wife Dawn Parnell; they were married in 1966. George and Dawn moved to Wenatchee WA when George became the Planning Director of Chelan County. George and Dawn had two children together, Jason and Teresa.
George later took a job as the Planning Director of Thurston County in Olympia WA, and primarily stayed in Olympia to raise his family while working for the Washington State Game Dept. For a period of about three years though, he moved his family to beautiful Lakeport, CA, when he became the Planning Director of Lake County CA before returning to Olympia to finish his career of public service in The Department of Game Wildlife. He retired in 1990.
George lost his wife Dawn to cancer in 1988. George married his third wife, Lorene Hofstrand in 1991, and after moving to Coupeville WA, ended up in Bellingham, WA in 1994. George and Lorene separated and divorced in 1994.
George enjoyed living in Bellingham, becoming active in local and national politics; he even traveled to Washington DC to witness the inauguration of President Obama (at the age of 83) in 2008. He loved driving, travel, stamp collecting, and enjoyed camping with his family in his truck camper to distant destinations such as Edmonton Canada, Yellowstone in Montana, and San Diego CA (including a most harrowing trip into Tijuana Mexico). He served in Bellingham as chairman of the Historic Preservation Council and participated in the renovation of The Mount Baker Theater, where he enjoyed watching the Whatcom Symphony.
In early 2014, George began showing signs of Alzheimer's disease, and slowly lost his ability to see or hear, but even in last days of his life he was vibrant, engaging and entertaining.
He made new friends (his caretakers) and still showed a strong sense of understanding. His constitution and determination were there to the end. George will leave us all mourning his passing, but we will always remember his wry wit, his sense of humor and his intellectual curiosity. Truly, he was one of the last of the “Greatest Generation.”

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