Milton Parker “Red” George, 79, of Fairhaven died at St. Luke's Hospital Tuesday May 1, 2012, after a brief illness.
He was born July 31, 1932, in Lakewood, RI, the son of Louis F. and Bernice Abigail George. His family moved to Fairhaven when he was young and he spent the rest of his life there. He graduated from Fairhaven High School as vice-president of the Class of 1951 and attended the University of Maine at Orono and Bryant College.
While serving with the U. S. Army in Germany, he met his future wife, Christine Weber, then of Munich. They were married in 1956, after his discharge from the service.
Milt was advertising manager of the New Bedford Standard-Times for seven years before leaving in early 1963 to establish Southeastern Advertising Agency (SEA) in New Bedford. Under his leadership, SEA grew from a one-man shop to a multi-service ad agency employing 30 people on two floors of its own building in downtown New Bedford.
SEA became nationally known for its expertise in the research and marketing of tourism and travel. Milt gave talks and conducted seminars on the subject throughout the United States and Canada and the agency did important work for the National Tour Association, the State of Texas, the Canadian Government Office of Tourism, and other major clients.
After retiring from the business in 1997, Milt put his love of local history and of his adopted town of Fairhaven to good use by founding the Fairhaven Heritage Center, which enshrines historic figures who were from Fairhaven or closely associated with the town.
Milt was an active member of the First Congregational Church of Fairhaven.
He is survived by his wife, Christine; two children, Lynne Louise George of Jamaica Plain and Andrew Weber George and his wife, Bonnie, of Elk Grove, California; two grandchildren, Nathaniel and Jacob George; a sister, Martha Cardoza of Fairhaven; and several nieces and nephews.
He will forever be remembered for his humor, his kindness and his enduring positive spirit.
His Memorial Service will be held on Saturday at 10 AM at the First Congregational Church of Fairhaven. Visiting hours will be on Friday from 4-8 PM at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.