George Frank Hucke was born in Grossen-Gottern, Germany January 28, 1907. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah July 21, 2004; he was 97 years old. He was the third of 11 children, but only five survived beyond infancy. An older sister and George immigrated to the United States in 1928, but she became ill and returned to Germany. In 1931, in New York City, George met and married another German immigrant, a member of the Mormon Church, Louise Morgenstern; George joined the Mormon Church in 1935. Their marriage was solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple in 1941; they were married for 56 years. Louise died in Salt Lake City in 1987. George served with distinction in the American Army during World War II; he was an interpreter and a medical evacuation specialist. During their lives together, George and Louise (in response to George's work as a machinist) lived in NYC, Chicago, Hood River, Oregon, and finally in Salt Lake City. George served as Jefferson Ward Clerk for 16 years; he lived in and helped with maintenance in the 14th Ward for nearly 14 years. He was a man of skill and strength; possessed of a quick smile and a warmth of spirit - for him the glass was always more than half-full. George and Louise had no children and have no known family members who survived them, but they have a large surrogate family - the children and grandchildren of Orlando Delogu, a young man they helped raise when they lived in NYC. This family will miss George (as they do Louise) - his smile, his firm handshake; he was father, grandfather, and great-grandfather to all of them. Services held in the 14th Ward, 142 W. 200 N., July 26, 2004 Funeral arrangements will be overseen by Larkin Mortuary of SLC; burial (beside his wife) will take place immediately after the service in Washington Heights Memorial Park, 4500 Washington Blvd., Ogden, Utah.

Published in the Salt Lake Tribune on 7/24/2004.