George P. Varish, Jr. was born to Eternal Life early morning January 10, 2018 at the age of 88. In 1929, George entered this world on the family's kitchen table in Milwaukee, WI as the first born child of the late George and Mary (nee Taschwer) Varish, Sr. He graduated from Juneau High School where he became best friends with Jimmy and Tommy Keuper. They inadvertently introduced him to their cheerleading little sister, Marillyn, who stole his heart and became the love of his life. While playing NCAA Division I college football and studying electrical engineering at Marquette University, Marillyn and George remained high school sweethearts. Though George would never talk about himself, Marillyn was always proud to point out that he was the starting tight end and starting defensive end for the Marquette Hilltoppers. His teammates and opponents nicknamed him, "The Rock" for his steadfast play and toughness. He was drafted into the NFL as a tight end, but at that time he decided that it was more important that he pursue his career as an electrical engineer. In 1952 George and Marillyn were united in marriage and enjoyed 61 years together before her sudden passing in December of 2013. George started his professional engineering career and served his country working for the Department of Defense in Washington, DC. While in DC, Marillyn and George had their first child, Susan. A few years later, they moved back to the Milwaukee area where he worked for General Electric. They eventually welcomed three more children, Linda, George (Bud) III, and Nancy. George was recruited by GM Delco, a contractor for NASA, as an engineer for the Apollo Project. He was instrumental in developing and advancing the command module guidance systems for the Apollo Missions. He often spent months working in California with the space program for Delco while his family remained in New Berlin, WI. When the time came that George was required to move permanently to California, he instead chose to reunite with General Electric, this time in their medical division, in order to stay in Wisconsin. At GE Medical, George helped develop and produce the new technologies utilized in CT scans and eventually in MRI equipment. On a personal level, George was known as a "gardener extraordinaire." In the summers, he was appreciated by his office staff as several times a week he would bring in his hand-picked prized roses simply for their enjoyment. His voluminous vegetable gardens supplied family and friends with fresh produce on an almost daily basis. Marillyn and his mother-in-law, Helen, spent many hours canning and preserving his bountiful harvests. George and Marillyn instilled their love of outdoors and travel with their family with annual camping trips. He gave his children the opportunity to travel the country while tent camping from coast to coast. The kids still laugh to this day about the military-type packing, set-up, break-down and re-packing regimens that would accompany each trip. A master of the "AAA Trip-Tic" - George and Marillyn set a standard that causes today's GPS to pale in comparison! In addition to camping, George shared his love of the outdoors by teaching his son the skills of hunting and fishing, which he appreciates and utilizes to this day. Shortly prior to and during their retirement years, George and Marillyn upgraded their travel accommodations almost exclusively to cruise ships. They enjoyed their visits to New Zealand, Europe, Australia and the Mediterranean. Though his goal was to set foot in every US state and on every continent, he fell short by one – Antarctica. In his later years, as travel became more difficult, he continued to explore the world through books, newspapers and magazines. Even up to his last few days, he always kept expanding his mind by reading world history while staying up to date with current events. George is survived by many who love him dearly. He is the Dad of Susan (Larry) Lechner, Linda (Bud) Schlaeger, George P. (Wendy) Varish, III, and Nancy (Roy) Schindler; Grandpa of Christine (Tim) Masarik, Elizabeth (Andy) Schoessow, Alec Schindler, Rachael Schindler, George "Geo" Varish, IV, and Layne Varish; Great-Grandpa of Emma and Austin; and Brother of Richard "Dick" (Greta) Varish of Prescott, Arizona. George is further survived by his Granddogs Luna, Zeke, Loki, Echo, Sage, and Ernie as well as other relatives and friends. In addition to his wife, Marillyn, George was preceded in death by his parents, George Sr. and Mary (nee Taschwer), brother Robert Varish, and sister Mary French.Visitation will be held on Thursday, January 18, 2018 from 10am to 11:45am, at St. Mary's Catholic Faith Community, 9520 W. Forest Home Avenue, Hales Corners with a Funeral Mass at 12pm. Entombment will occur at Holy Cross Cemetery following the service. In lieu of flowers, George would welcome memorial contributions to the Humane Animal Welfare Society (HAWS) of Waukesha or to the Make-A-Wish-Foundation.