George Stuart Laurence

George Stuart Laurence was taken by his spirit guide on May 23rd at the age of 89. He was born on January 15, 1932 in Hackensack Hospital to Rodolphe G. Laurence and Annabelle Laurence (Haase). George grew up in Cresskill, New Jersey and attended Tenafly High School, graduating in 1949. He most recently lived in New Philadelphia, Ohio. He earned a Bachelor of Sciences degree in accounting from the New York University School of Finance in 1953. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and graduated from the U.S. Army School of Finance at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis. He served for three years of active duty at the Alaskan Command Center and at Fort Holabird in Baltimore where he was in a classified position at the Army Counter Intelligence Center. It was there that he met Catherine Anne Lindeman, the love of his life. She worked as a civilian for the office of the Judge Advocate General. They married on November 4, 1956 in Dundalk, Maryland. In 1957, they had a son, George Rodolphe Laurence. After getting an honorable discharge from the Army, he embarked on his accounting career. He became an accounting supervisor for the Witco Chemical Company for 9 years, then in 1965, he became a divisional comptroller for the USM Corporation in East Rutherford, New Jersey and later, Marshall, Michigan. Returning to the garden State, George became treasurer and Administrative Vice President for the R. G. Laurence Company in Tenafly, New Jersey, a company his father had started in 1938. After moving to Dundalk, Maryland in 1985, he ventured into real estate. In 1988, he once again pursued his accounting career and worked for the Palm Beach County Library System in West Palm Beach, Florida while helping care for his aging father. He has had many diverse interests in his life. While still living in New Jersey, he involved himself in Bergen County political circles. He served 6 years as a councilman for the Borough of Demarest and was elected to the Republican County Committee from 1973-1984. With an intense interest in local history, he was involved with historic surveys and other local history projects, and was elected as a trustee of the Bergen County Historical Society. His love of history extended to genealogy in which he authored two books on the Laurence family and its forebearers. After returning to Florida, he found one of his true callings. As an animal lover all of his life, he become a volunteer at the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary after retirement and focused on Florida panthers and Bobcat rescue. Beginning in the 1960's, he has been an advocate of indigenous American cultures. He was a member of the Sacred Circle of the St. Labre Indian School in Ashland, Montana, and served on the Board of Advisors for the Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. As his son, I have always been proud of him. He is pre-deceased by he his parents Rodolphe and Annabelle Laurence as well as his wife Cathy. He is survived by his son George (Stacie) Laurence of New Philadelphia; Ohio, his granddaughter Maeggie Herman-Laurence of New Philadelphia, Ohio; his younger brother Ronald (Lois) Laurence of Stratham, New Hampshire and two nieces and a nephew . Visitation will be at Barrett Leber Funeral Home, 148 Dean Dr., Tenafly NJ 07670 on Wednesday June 2, 2021 from 9:30am to 12:00pm with service beginning at noon. Interment to follow at Hackensack Cemetery, Hackensack. For more information visit www.barrettleberfuneralhome.com.

George Stuart Laurence

May 23, 2021