George J. Kirschner

George J. Kirschner Wenatchee, WA George passed away peacefully Monday, December 28, 2015, at the age of 89. He was born in Olmstead, Illinois, on July 2, 1926, to Paul and Gabriella (Ritry) Kirschner. In 1936 his family moved to Cashmere, WA, where he attended school and worked in the family orchard. In 1944 after graduating from Cashmere High, he enlisted in the Army. After basic training he was sent to the Philippines until the war ended and then was stationed at the Army headquarters in Tokyo, Japan until 1946. After being discharged from the Army, he returned to Washington and attended Washington State University where he studied engineering. In 1948 George had planned on marrying Jeanne Fales, his high school sweetheart. They had purchased a home in Pullman, where they would live while George completed his degree, but that year Jeanne contracted polio. Over the next 14 months he commuted to Yakima visiting Jeanne, while she recuperated in the polio ward at the hospital there. Finally in 1950 after Jeanne was released from the hospital, they were married in Cashmere. The couple moved to Wenatchee and George worked as an orchardist and in the family business, the Krispy K. Fruit Company. He was an integral part of the fruit industry in the Wenatchee valley for the next 30 years. During this time he and Jeanne raised three children -- Lisa, Tony and Kelly. In the early eighties he started a new chapter of his life when he opened a car dealership, Performance Motors, where he worked every day for the next three decades. At the age of 86 he retired permanently and lived in the home that he and Jeanne had shared for over 60 years. This October he returned to Cashmere, the town where he grew up, and spent his remaining days at the Cashmere Convalescent Center. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Jeanne, daughter Lisa, brother Louis Kirschner and sister Marguerite Radach. He is survived by his sons Tony Kirschner of Palisades and Kelly Kirschner of Wenatchee. A memorial service will be held at the Jones & Jones-Betts Funeral home chapel on Saturday, January 16th at 1:00 pm, with a Celebration of Life gathering at the home of Kelly Kirschner immediately following the service.

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George J. Kirschner

July 2, 1926 - December 28, 2015