George Sissea

A funeral service for George Sissea will be held at 3:00 P.M. on Friday, March 25, 2016 at the McPeek-Hoekstra Funeral Home, 133 S. Prospect St., in Granville with Rev. Janice Hilkerbaumer officiating.  Burial with military honors will follow at Maple Grove Cemetery.  The family will receive friends 1:00 to 3:00 P.M. prior the service.

George passed away on March 21, 2016.  He was born on February 17, 1926 to the late George Jacob and Marie Samoila Sissea in Newark, Ohio.  He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth, who passed away on June 30, 2015 and with whom he had celebrated 50 years of marriage earlier that month, as well as his sister, Marie Gebhart. He is survived by his sister, Helen McElroy, and sons George A. (Beth) Sissea, John (Kris) Sissea, and stepson Edward (Laura) Lewis; grandchildren Andrew (Tabitha) Lewis, Jamie Lewis, Matthew Lewis, Michael Lewis and Kylie Sissea. 

George was a graduate of Newark High School and attended Morehead State Teachers College in Kentucky on a football scholarship. He excelled in sports at Wilson Junior High School and Newark High School, playing tight end on the Newark High School football team when they were 1943 state champions.  In addition to being active in sports, he later enjoyed coaching Little League Baseball when his sons participated and then watching his grandsons play football and baseball.  He also loved to play golf and had three holes-in-one during his retirement years. 

He proudly served in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific Campaign during World War II, enlisting when he was 17 years old and a high school junior.  He saw action in the Marshall Islands and later served aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Puget Sound.  He belonged to the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio, and Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.  He also belonged to the American Legion and the Tehran Grotto.

George retired from Kaiser Aluminum in 1979, where he was a foreman.  After retirement, he and Ruth moved to Florida where they spent 20 years before returning to Ohio to be near family.

George belonged to First Presbyterian Church in Granville.  George and Ruth loved to travel to Las Vegas to attend shows and gamble, even purchasing the lot for their retirement home with their winnings.  George loved gardening, spending time with family, and rooting for the Cleveland Indians and Ohio State Buckeyes football team.

Contributions in his memory may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 110 W. Broadway, Granville, OH 43023 or Hospice of Central Ohio Foundation, P.O. Box 430, Newark, OH 43058.  Online condolences may be expressed at www.mcpeekhoekstra.com.

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