Col. Emil George Riedel Jr.'s Obituary
Col. Emil George Riedel passed away on December 26TH 2023. Born in Bellaire, Ohio in 1932, he was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. George graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy on June 3rd, 1955 and married Elinore Jean Jackson of Philadelphia, PA two days later on June 5th. George and Elinore found a great harmony in their relationship, balancing each other’s strengths and weakness, while navigating life’s hurdles with grace and peace. Their forty-eight year love story would go on to include six children, and thirty grand and great-grandchildren.
From the civil rights marches in Alabama, to the Vietnam War, and up through the Cold War, George’s professional life reads like the pages of a history book. After graduating from the Naval Academy, George served as an US Air Force officer in various operational and management roles for twenty years. He followed this with a senior position on the Senate Arms Service Committee staff and then as Director of Corporate Affairs for ITT Defense. Upon his retirement from ITT, George, with Elinore became a gentlemen farmer in rural Virginia.
George and Elinore raised a large extended family grounded in faith and service. The family hearth and home served as his sanctuary; a center for intellectual debate, emotional support, and competitive energy. George was active in the individual lives of his large brood; coaching sports teams, encouraging individual achievements, attending graduations and school events, and leading large family vacations. He had a wry sense of humor, favoring satire and wit, and was never short of dad jokes, often warning, “cheer up things will get worse.” The Gods smiled on his and Elinore’s efforts on the home front with each of his six children building a family in their model.
George’s spiritual center may have been his garden, taught from an early age, where he spent long hours cultivating the vegetable beds and harvesting fresh produce. He loved the Virginia countryside and putting down potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, and sweet corn was in his core DNA. He also dabbled in raising livestock despite minor vaudevillian disasters when his four sons were involved. On many a Sunday afternoon he would return to the family table with the fresh picked corn and the warm August sun behind him.
George is survived by: son Robin and wife Molly, son George and wife Amy, son John; son Christopher and wife Julia; daughter Sara and husband Brendan; daughter Barbara and husband Scott; and twenty-one (21) grandchildren and nine (9) great grandchildren.
All are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from noon (12:00 pm) until one-thirty (1:30 pm) in the afternoon on Saturday, the thirteenth (13th) of January 2024, at Arcola United Methodist Church, Arcola, VA.
Following the Visitation the funeral service is to be conducted at one-thirty (1:30 pm) in the afternoon on Saturday, the thirteenth (13th) of January 2024, at Arcola United Methodist Church, Dulles, VA.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of George Riedel to Arcola United Methodist Church, 24757 Arcola Mills Dr, Dulles, VA 20166
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