George Elvin Dillahunty
Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, our family lost a man that we were blessed and honored to call father, dad, daddy, granddaddy, son, brother, uncle, friend. I know each relationship affected will keenly feel this loss for a very long time to come. George was that special and valued friend, confidant, and the ultimate ‘fixer’. He was absolutely brilliant and had a knack for solving any problem, whether it was an actual physical problem or something in theory. He loved nothing more than mastering a good challenge in any and every way possible. He wouldn’t get frustrated, he would just laugh and enjoy the struggle that much more, as he unlocked all the secrets of his current challenge. And when the time came, testing others’ abilities against those same challenges and sharing the joy of the solutions would bring him even more joy.
George loved his children and grandchildren unconditionally—sometimes to a fault. If someone he cared about was in need, he would do everything in his power to make their situation improve. George was a Vietnam Veteran. He served in the Marines and completed two tours of Vietnam, earning three Purple Hearts. Growing up, we would hear stories from his time in war and we would be in awe of how brave he was. If anyone tried to get more details of his time in war, he would humbly shut the conversations down. George never did anything or shared anything to show off or bring attention to himself.
George completed a Bachelor of Science degree at Oklahoma State University, with a major in Agriculture and minor in Business. He carried and improved his skill sets through many successful ventures in his life. The longest standing commitment was 25+ years he worked as an Operator at ConocoPhillips in Ponca City.
George was always chatting up a storm, sharing fun facts about all of his random interests, telling his silly ‘dad jokes’ as I called them. He did so, purely to spread love and laughter to those around him. I believe that quality alone brought him more joy and solace than anything else in his life. If he could make just one person genuinely laugh, it brought him twice the joy.
Next comes the hard part. The impossible part, where we move on without him. I’m afraid my whole world will be off its axis, maybe forever, without my hero, my rock, to turn to when I need him. I will have to take each day one at a time and wrestle the grief and heartbreak as well as simply missing the sound of his voice or his sweet laugh. One conciliation is that he is no longer suffering and has found eternal rest and peace. Remember, this isn’t goodbye, but see you later, Dad. We love you.
George will be lovingly remembered and is survived by his mother, Opal Dillahunty; his siblings, Linda Rae Reagan, Joe Dillahunty, and Patsy Parker; his children, Rodney Norris, Bethany Dillahunty, and Natalie Stockton; his grandchildren, Alexis Marie Williams, Peyten Norris, Jacob Norris, Colton Worley, Dylan Worley, Jett Worley, Easton Stockton and Stella Stockton. George was preceded in death by his father, Raymond Dillahunty, and two children, Jeffery King and Brett Dillahunty.
(Obituary written by George’s daughter, Natalie Dillahunty Stockton)
Memorial Service and Life Celebration to be held on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, 2 to 4 p.m., Piedmont Area Veterans Association 170 Edmond Road Piedmont, OK 73078.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the following in George’s memory: Granite Church of Christ PO Box 233 Granite, OK 73547.
paid obituary