George Facaros

November 1, 1932 - January 23, 2026

George died at home in his sleep after suffering from worsening dementia over the past years, always cared for by Joanne, his loving wife of 70 years. He was the beloved father of Dana and Nick, grandfather (Papoo) to Jackson, Kaliisa, Lily and Wren, and great grandfather (Grand Papoo) of Freyja, Leo, Arlo and Sullivan.

George was hard-working, warm hearted, generous and always ready to help others. He was soft spoken and quiet, but had a sly sense of humor and twinkle in his eye, and was full of surprises. He was up for almost anything, from betting an elderly Greek goatherd he could beat him up a mountain (he lost) to dancing traditional Scottish reels at his grandson’s wedding. Hearing him sing ‘Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road’ or ‘Sneaky Snake’ was pure comedy gold.

George’s parents were from the Greek island of Ikaria. Although he was born in the US, his parents took him and six older siblings back to Ikaria when he was six months old. It was during the Great Depression and his father thought they would fare better there. Instead, a few years later they were caught up in the Second World War, and managed to escape the terrible famine in Greece by taking a boat to Turkey where they were put in the care of the Red Cross. After many adventures they spent the rest of the war in the Belgian Congo before returning to Steubenville, Ohio, where his father worked in a diner.

George graduated with an engineering degree from Cal Berkeley in 1954 and specialized in metallurgy, in particular manufacturing ceramic magnets, winning patents for the improved processes he designed. In his career he worked for Westinghouse near Pittsburgh, Arnold Engineering outside of Chicago, and General Electric and Hitachi in Michigan, before working two years as a consultant with GM in Laredo, Texas. George and Joanne were winter Texans, then permanent Texans, before settling near their family in Eugene and becoming members of the Shadow Hills Country Club.

It's almost an understatement to say that both loved playing golf and hanging out at country clubs. Nearly every other year they travelled to Europe to visit family and see the sights, often bringing along their clubs to play in France, Ireland and Scotland. Even while slowed down with dementia, George never forgot how to whack a little white ball, and played until he was 92.

He will always live in the hearts of all those lucky enough to have known him. He was a great character. And he had the best ever smile and laugh.