George H. Neumann was born October 9, 1934, in Gem, Alberta. He was the last of 16 children born to Heinrich and Sarah Neumann. George spent the first 11 years of his life in Gem, until his parents moved to BC in 1945.

     George’s teen years were spent in Greendale, attending the Greendale MB Church, and commuting to Mennonite Educational Institute in Clearbrook for his high school education. He was baptized, on confession of his faith, in 1951. Following high school, George attended university.

     George met Betty Balzer in high school, and in September, 1955, they were married in the Arnold MB Church, three months after George’s father’s passing. After obtaining his teaching credentials, George and Betty moved to Kitimat, for George’s first teaching job. Kitimat became their home and is where they raised their family of five, and where George spent his entire teaching career, first at Kildala Elementary, as teacher and principal, and then at Mount Elizabeth High School, where he served as principal for 15 years. George found time to return to UBC in 1969 to obtain his M.Ed.

     As a young man, George was a competitive, natural, and gifted athlete.  Whatever sport he put his hand to, he shone – playing lacrosse, turning double plays at second base, or quarterbacking his basketball team. He gravitated to the leadership role, often as the team captain and manager. As time went on and a debilitating back injury and age took its toll, the sports faded and stopped, and this smooth athleticism disappeared, but was replaced with competitive Canasta and Crokinole. 

     If one thing characterized George’s life, especially his earlier career years, it was leadership – in sports, in the church, and at school. His leadership capability came naturally to him in an age when professional self-help books on this topic were few.  He was always fully committed to his team, he always stepped up and supported it when needed, and would stand on principle against all odds.  There was never any question that he had his team’s back. 

     In his time as an educator and school principal, he had a positive and lasting impact on both students’ and teachers’ lives – he was highly respected and always one of the favourite teachers on staff.  It was as school principal where he had the greatest impact. He recruited and retained a talented group of teachers, led them with firmness, empathy, and stood by them when things got tough.  He was clearly and unwaveringly a “teachers’ principal” –  not a “Superintendent’s principal”.  His staff returned his commitment to them with their strong loyalty and respect for him, both during his tenure as principal, and after his retirement; during the good and the bad times.

     Following his retirement from teaching, George was elected as school board chair. As a testament to his popularity, the election victory was by a margin never before seen in any civic election in Kitimat. George also served on the UNBC Senate during the university’s formative years.

     Without the modern diversions of technology, the family was central, and George and Betty’s family spent a lot of time together.  The most vivid memories of family time, for his children, are all of the camping they did, graduating from the “circus tent”, where all slept in a row inside, to the very luxurious tent trailer. Family vacations varied, from Canim Lake fishing trips, to a cross-Canada trip, tenting most of the way. George regaled and entertained his children with scary bedtime stories. George enjoyed hiking in the bush around Kitimat including climbing Squirrel and Claque mountains, sleeping under the stars on beds made out of pine boughs. A good ‘Kitimatian’, George spent many hours fishing the Kitimat River for spring and coho salmon, often joined by his family.

     George and Betty were active in the First Baptist Church of Kitimat. Betty played piano and sang in the choir, among other things. George naturally gravitated to a variety of leadership roles.

     George was a supportive father, who was “there” at the critical times when his help was needed the most.  He was very proud of his children and never missed an opportunity to introduce them to whomever he was talking to. With the arrival of grandchildren, George demonstrated a broad, encompassing pride of his grandkids, their endeavors and accomplishments.  He and Betty showed up for everything – hockey, swimming, and fastball. 

     George was an intellectual. Literacy, critical thought and drawing one’s own conclusions were the cornerstone of his being. He was willing to challenge the status quo; to stand on principle and support the people he cared for when others might not. It was the down-trodden, George would feel compassion for, take under his wing, counsel, and often bring into their home for one of Betty’s great meals.  His support and defence of the common man against the powerful became his identity.  He travelled the length of the province on one occasion to stand up in court for a troubled nephew of his when no one else could or would.  George had a strong and unwavering expectation of social justice and responsibility for the disenfranchised. 

     There is probably nothing that frustrated George more than the unthinking literalist.  He never understood the unquestioning follower which often caused strife in his relationship with conservative acquaintances.  He strongly believed that one must have a philosophy on which one’s belief is based. George is described by his son as “…a man of letters, an intellect and a reader; through example, there seemed to be an expectation that we would read and it never felt otherwise to us.” 

     For health reasons, George and Betty moved to the Lower Mainland in 2004. Sadly, Betty’s life was cut short by Parkinson’s, passing away on December 21, 2004, at the age of 70. George too, suffered from ill health and was in and out of the hospital in his last years. He passed away on July 23, 2013, at the age of 78.

     George and Betty’s direct descendants number 24 (2023).