MEMORIAL MINUTE

Memorial Minute for George Newkirk

George Newkirk was a member of Gainesville Friends Meeting from September 1972 until he died in July 2008.

George was born in 1918 in Quincy, Illinois and attended Quincy High School and Quincy College, now Quincy University. In fact, he organized the 60th reunion for his classmates at Quincy High.

From his youth George had a great interest in nature. He went swimming, hunting, hiking and camping whenever he could. At age 16 he lied about his age so he could join the National Guard.

He was in the army during World War II, but an accident kept him from being deployed with his unit and he was assigned to guard a prisoner of war camp in Colorado. George would regale us with stories of his experiences there, notably the time the Italians arrived. Immediately they were assigned to be the cooks. They complained that they had no Italian spices, so George set out to find a local restaurant to supply the camp with spices in exchange for cream and strawberries which the camp had in abundance. Soon the officers were coming to the enlisted men's mess hall to enjoy the new Italian food.

After the war with money from the G.I. Bill, George completed a Masters Degree in psychology at George Washington University. He later attended Georgetown University as well. He specialized in the rehabilitation of floundering educational institutions in 42 developing countries. He was sometimes called upon to explain the origin of cultural differences and conflicts, and how he felt they could be reduced.

George had been raised in the Roman Catholic Church, but as he grew older, he became disillusioned and by 1949 started seeking "a spiritual philosophy that would fit my needs." (from a Memorial Minute for Charles De Witt written by George) He found that spiritual home in the Langley Hill Friends Meeting.

The meeting was looking for property for a meetinghouse. His wife Emma, with whom he had two sons, was a member of a Lutheran Church which had property to sell. The original deed, when it had been a Methodist Church, stipulated that the property should be used for religious purposes. So, the purchase was mutually satisfactory. The stained glass windows, however, would have to give way to transparent glass which allowed the light to flood into the room. He later transferred his membership to the Florida Avenue Monthly Meeting in Washington, D. C.

George moved to Ocala in the late 1960's and worked as a school psychologist. He became a member of Gainesville Monthly Meeting by transfer and served for a term on the Ministry and Oversight Committee.

When the Daytona Beach Meeting was laid down in the 1970's, all of the property reverted to the yearly meeting. Gainesville Meeting wanted to have the chairs and the hymnals. George offered to get them by using a trailer on the back of his car.

Gene Beardsley and George went over to Daytona, loaded up the chairs and the hymnals and headed beach to Gainesville. On the way back, the trailer had a flat tire. As they were changing the tire, it started to rain, but they persevered and managed to drive the car through the forest and up to Gainesville. The chairs and hymnals were unloaded and placed in the meetinghouse for a very grateful meeting. The chairs were first used in the meeting room in the meetinghouse on 2nd Avenue and then later in the social room in the 38th Street meetinghouse.

This was a labor of love for which George and Gene should always be remembered, a durable contribution to the worship and fellowship of the meeting.

George started the Ocala Worship Group in 1979. He provided a house and started advertising. A food cooperative and a women's spirituality group were given the use of the house. He was very proactive in supporting good works and good people whenever he could.

Four people from the food co-op became interested in finding out about Quakerism. Two people responded to the advertisement, and on November 3 the first meeting was held to introduce information about the Religious Society of Friends.

George became very involved in Southeastern Yearly Meeting projects, notably the Quaker Center in Orlando known as Cisney House, an apartment building next to the Orlando Meetinghouse. He served on the Cisney House Committee from 1979 to 2002. It had been owned by Orlando Monthly Meeting before being sold to SEYM in 1980. Together with Morrie Trimmer he inspected the apartment complex to be able to report to the yearly meeting on the advisability of the purchase.

George served on the Board of Trustees of SEYM in the early 1980's. He served on the SEYM Ministry and Worship Committee in the mid 1980's and spent much effort in involving the committee in resolving differing concepts of Quaker practice in the Ocala Worship Group which at that time was under the care of Gainesville Monthly Meeting. George's activities in the Ocala Worship Group in the early 1980's included planning Meetings for Learning, helping to start up monthly business meetings, and serving as recording clerk. He had a strong interest in outreach and in strengthening both the Ocala Worship Group and Gainesville Monthly Meeting as caring communities. His favorite Bible verse was "Work is love made visible," and he tried through his work to show his love.

George loved working for the children at Half Yearly Meeting. He would collect pine cones and bring them along with green paint, spray snow and lots of beads and things the children could use to turn the pine cones into small Christmas trees to decorate their homes. He also brought materials to help with the cupcake and cookie decorating activities.After the Ocala Worship Group was laid down, George formed what was known as the Ocala Friends Meeting. This was a worship group that had no formal ties to any monthly meeting or the yearly meeting.

His wife Emma died in 1996. In his later years, George was a member of the Greater Ocala Ministerial Association and Marions for Peace in which organization he was actively involved in vigils, rallies and demonstrations for peace, holding up his "War is not the Answer" sign and later, after his knee surgery, leaning on it. When standing became difficult, he would continue demonstrating in his wheel chair.

  George married Marie Elena in 2000. She would help him prepare for Meeting for Worship in their home and help him go to his medical appointments and social events.

George passed away on July 2, 2008 at his home in Ocala. He will be remembered for his sense of humor, his great story telling, his loving interest in the children of the yearly meeting and his devotion both to Gainesville Monthly Meeting and to the business of Southeastern Yearly Meeting.