George B. Carver

George B. Carver, of Ithaca, NY, passed away October 5, 2010 at the age of 82. Born in Tulsa, OK on February 17, 1928, he was the son of the late George E. and Mae Hartzell Carver. Mr. Carver is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Steven Carver and Pamela Tolbert, both of Ithaca, and granddaughters Anna Carver of Boston, MA and Laura

Carver of Ithaca. George was pre-deceased by his loving wife of 56 years, Charlene Posey Carver.George was a veteran of the Second World War, having served in the US Navy aboard the destroyer USS Edsall (DE-129.) He was wounded on the island of Guam after being struck by shrapnel from a grenade tossed by an enemy soldier who refused to acknowledge the war had ended.

Mr. Carver was a career firefighter with the city of Tulsa, serving more than 28 years. He retired from the department at the rank of Captain in 1982, because of a series of injuries suffered while on duty. He was delighted by the reception he received from members of the Ithaca Fire Department when he moved to upstate NY in 2005. He was grateful for

the concern and companionship offered by his brother firefighters.

George was a lifelong aficionado of the works of Mark Twain, and had amassed a considerable collection of materials on Mr. Clemens. For several decades he had performed as the personage of Twain; in full costume he delivered monologues based on Twain’s writings to civic, church and consumer groups. He considered the performance

he gave aboard the paddle steamer The Delta Queen (while it navigated the Mississippi River,) to be his career highlight. Twain’s work helped George to maintain his well- developed sense of humor despite all the physical challenges he faced in life.

A memorial service is to be planned at a later date. The family requests that any remembrance donations be made to Hospicare, a palliative care service of Tompkins County, located in Ithaca.