George Edward Lloyd

George Edward Lloyd died unexpectedly at his home in Grapevine, Texas, on Saturday, July 15, 2023. He was born to Mavis Pleis Lloyd and Melvin Lloyd on July 17, 1947, in Fairbury, Nebraska and later moved to Long Island, NY. He graduated from Uniondale High School in 1965, where he began his study of French and excelled in diving and in pole-vaulting competitions. (He held his high school’s pole-vaulting record for several years.) After graduation, he moved to California, where sun and sand and surf were great! He lived with roommates on Balboa Island, worked at a steakhouse, attended junior college to establish residency, and he surfed! George attended UCLA, continuing his studies in French, and graduated with a degree in anthropology in 1969. He did some graduate work in Greece with his professor and later studied in Bordeaux, France, where he also taught American English for flight attendants at the university there. Many years later he took his wife, Julia, to the caves of Lascaux, where prehistoric man lived 50 thousand years ago, and through the valley of Les Eyzies where cave dwellers had lived.

Always interested in aviation, George took flying lessons in California, received his pilot’s license, and worked ferrying new Cessnas from Kansas to California. He eventually found work in commercial marketing and became an international sales manager with the Flying Tiger Line, extending his travels to major Asian cities. Later he worked in marketing with other domestic airlines, finally finding stability with American Airlines in Los Angeles. He trained in avionic technology and moved to Grapevine, TX, to work at DFW. He married Julia Henry Martin in September of 1990. George worked for American Airlines for 25 years, and throughout their marriage, he and Julia traveled to Europe, South America, Australia & New Zealand, and Japan, with many domestic flights to California and one to Hawaii. (For several years he owned a Catalina sailboat, docked at Dana Point, CA.) George also enjoyed fishing vacations in Beavers Bend, OK, Fairbury, NE, and Taos, NM. In early spring of this year, George and Julia enjoyed a wonderful vacation visiting cities in Austria, a castle in Germany, and Paris, France.

George was not only an avid traveler, but he was also a collector and a craftsman. He flew and maintained his own Cessna for several years. He loved and restored old Porsches and completely restored and refurbished a 1966 Honda CL77 Scrambler motorcycle. He built a beautiful cabinet to display his collection of antique Winchester rifles and had a collection of over 90 different pocketknives. George also enjoyed collecting and reading all the Clive Cussler novels, and then rereading them all in chronological order!

Finally, George loved his cats! He brought two with him from California and after they passed, he inherited and adopted a few more with Julia. Willie (the cat) died in May at the age of 20, so he recently adopted two kittens, Clive and Dirk.

George is survived by his wife, Julia; a stepson, Justin Martin; sisters Janice Lloyd of New York and Livia Lloyd-Hawkins of New Jersey, brothers-in-law Pat Henry (wife Barbara) and David Henry (wife Mary Louise), sisters-in-law Betty Doyle and Mary Lewis and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his oldest sister Sharon Bridges, and his stepdaughter Shelley Martin.

A celebration of George’s life will be held at a future date at Bear Creek Cemetery in Euless, TX, where his ashes will be buried near Shelley. In lieu of flowers you may donate in his name to the Humane Society or to your neighborhood animal shelter.