We wish a final “Fair winds and following seas” to George Lake, 92. Born in Port Chester, NY, George was the only child of George Dewey and Anna Schreiber Lake. Throughout George’s childhood, both parents held multiple jobs each to keep the small family managing. A few early paying jobs as a model for the Sears and Montgomery Ward Catalogs tells you something about George’s natural attributes. His height and physical ability also made him an excellent athlete. George once scored 46 points in a single basketball game, leading his Flatbush Christian team to victory in the highly competitive Y.M.C.A. Brooklyn Church league. After graduation from Brooklyn Polytech High School, George enrolled in the New York Polytechnic Institute, where he joined the ROTC. Having a bit too much fun as a Lambda Chi Alpha member, in his third year, George’s grades slipped and he was almost drafted into the Army to serve in the Korean War. Through intense concentration during his final university year, taking 23 credits in one semester, he turned his GPA around and finished his Civil Engineering degree. Upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy as an Officer in the Civil Engineering Corps.

During his years at Poly, George met a young nursing student, Naomi deGruchy, also of Brooklyn. The couple eloped just before George departed for his first Navy tour to Guam. “Nomi”, as only he called her, stayed at Methodist Nursing Hospital, secretly married for her first year as a Navy wife, so that she could be allowed to complete her nurses’ training. She joined him on the tiny island soon after ceremonies and the couple began their many years of adventures.

The Navy life suited the young couple and they traveled far and wide. From Guam, they returned stateside to Charleston, S.C., and then went oversees again, to N.A.S. Pt. Lyautey Morocco, Africa. George received his first Meritorious Service Award for heroism in Agadir, where he had repeatedly entered rubble piles to save buried victims during rescue operations after an earthquake. It was in Morocco that the young couple also started their family; a second daughter was born on their next tour in Bethpage, New York. The Navy tours then took the young family to Hawaii where they were “based” while George travelled to and from Viet Nam for four years. His second Meritorious Service Award was earned in Saigon as Resident Officer in Charge of Construction (ROICC) during the $1 Billion U.S. pre-war investment. George did not let his arduous Navy duties eclipse his family; he shopped for and regularly sent countless exotic and unusual treasures to “his girls back home”.

George’s Nam duties, along with an MBA from Florida State University, reaped an early rank up to Commander while stationed at N.A.S. Pensacola. George also earned several “Super Dad awards”: Honorary Girl Scout; Favorite Swim Team Fan, Official Timer (and chauffer); and, Best Sunday Morning Bowling Coach. From Pensacola, the family moved to northeast Virginia, where George had D.C. tours in Arlington, the Navy Yard and the Pentagon. He also bought the first of several sail boats, and trained his all-girl team as first mate and lesser mateys. His third and final Meritorious Service Award was earned while Public Works Officer during the energy crisis of the 70s at Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, MD. As the single largest employer in St. Mary’s County, in southeast Maryland, CAPT Lake had initiated environmental programs, energy reduction initiatives and resource conservation strategies that set the Naval Facilities high bar for years to come.

“Retiring” after a 28-year U.S. Naval career, George moved to a private sector endeavor with EG&G, Inc. a Fortune 500 Corporation where he became Vice President. He spent time in Mideast Contract Support and continued his international travels to work on environmentally driven projects for the next 15 years. Among other special projects with EG&G, George spent nine years in support roles to the National Science Foundation in Antarctica. He traveled to the South Pole five times to visit and oversee the facilities maintenance operations.

George and Nan (as the rest of the world knows her) enjoyed retirement as plank-holder residents of Governor’s Land and club members at Two Rivers Country Club in Williamsburg, Virginia. The couple played golf, enjoyed competitive contract bridge, and entertained great friends and family. They continued their international travels together, sometimes with friends or family in tow. In 2016, after 25 years at Two Rivers, George and Nan moved to Jacksonville and then to Amelia Island, where they enjoyed the warm Florida weather, the quaint small-town feel of Fernandina Beach, even more highly competitive bridge, and yet more travel. They celebrated their 70th anniversary in June of 2023 with an acknowledgment that all of their wishes had really come true.

They were grateful for their many dear friends and fun family times. George enjoyed a long and wonderful life. He will be missed deeply by those that loved him.

George is proceeded in death by his parents. Those left are his wife, Naomi; daughter Laura Lake and her husband Steve Norton of Jacksonville FL; daughter Jessica Buhr and her husband Rob of Ellicott City, MD. He also leaves his grandchildren, Stephanie Buhr of Pittsburg, PA; Alison Miller and her husband Drew of Pittsburg; and, Paul Buhr of Ellicott City, MD.

George was a man dedicated to the Navy, his nation, and his family. Decades after his USN retirement, almost all of George’s junior Officers sought him out to say the same thing… His influence had made them better Officers, better Americans and better men. At a later date his ashes will be interned at the National Cemetery in Washington D.C.

The family offers so many people special thanks for their caring friendship. It would also be an omission to not mention the many Boxer dogs in Dad’s life: Mister Dillon, Poobah, Boozer, and his last and favorite buddy, Beau.