Deceased August 23, 2014
View alumni profile (log in required)
Read obituary
50th Reunion book entry
In Memory
When George Gates called to tell me that George Slight had left us, my thoughts immediately went back to those happy days of a sophomore year spent living with one of the nicest, most thoughtful and considerate guys I have ever known. Four of us, Jim Clark ‘53, Bill Collins ‘53, George and I roomed together on the third floor of North where three of us drifted into varying degrees of what was commonly referred to as “sophomore slump.” But not George. Despite the many distractions we created, he managed to maintain the course. He kept in training for basketball, got his homework in on time, established the “Swearing Cup” (25 cents in the cup for every four-letter word spoken in the room) and generally set a good example for the rest of us.
A week after graduation, George ushered at our wedding and headed off for Newport and service in the U.S. Navy. After active duty, he attended and received his M.B.A. from Perdue and went to work for Inland Steel where he spent his entire career. After retirement, he and his wife, Jean, traveled between their homes in Wisconsin and Florida. As a husband, a father a grandfather and a friend, George continued to set an example for everyone with whom he came into contact. As a family member puts it, “He was a sports enthusiast, an avid golfer, a Chicago Bears loyalist, a lover of dogs and hunting and all things nature, but most of all he was our rock, enthusiastic leader and patriarch. His legacy will live on through generations.”
To which we can only add, “Amen.”
Harry Rubicam ‘53
