St George’s Commitment ‘Larger than Life’

Gramps would have been proud. As Dr. Joshua Bald began the eulogy on Monday morning during a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Anthony’s Church in Fredonia for Charles St. George, he recalled some advice from that respected man when it came to addressing a crowd and giving speeches.

Go from the heart, don’t read it and keep it short,” he said in his opening remarks about the Fredonia icon.

To his credit, Bald spoke for about eight minutes about his grandfather. That was no easy task in summing up the 94-year life of St. George that was filled with dedication to his community, family, church and country.

A World War II veteran, St. George was proud of his love for the United States of America and was grateful to serve on the U.S.S. Alaska. It was that connection he kept for almost 65 years through reunions and communications, specifically through his newsletter entitled the Northstar. When he ran out of funds to continue the correspondence that was filled with memories, photos and obituaries of heroes who participated during the war, he was still mailing out about 250 copies.

Read the full article on the Dunkirk Observer website…

Charles S. St. George Obituary

Charles St. George, age 94 of Fredonia, died Thursday October 3, 2019 at Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dunkirk, NY. Charlie was the son of Frank and Frances St. George.Charles St. George was born and raised in Fredonia, New York. Following his graduation from Fredonia High School in 1943, he was drafted into the military service and he elected to serve in the Navy.He served with the United States Navy from 1943-1946 aboard the U.S.S. Alaska (CB-1) in the Pacific and participated in the battles of the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the China Sea. In his later years he coordinated the U.S.S. Alaska reunions for 28 years and was the editor of the U.S.S. Alaska newsletter, the “North Star”. Following his honorable discharge from the Navy, under the GI Bill of rights, he attended the Chown School of Business in Buffalo and graduated in 1949 with an associates degree in accounting. This was where he met his future wife, Norma.

You can read the full obituary by clicking here…

USS Alaska, was the first of the Alaska class large cruisers.