George Vawter, Class of 1949

George Vawter ’49 died March 16, 2021. He was born in Mansfield, OH on Dec. 27, 1925, to the late George and Mirl (Slick) Vawter. George served in the Army Air Corp in WWII and then earned his Bachelor’s degree from Otterbein College. He was a part of the Zeta Phi (Zeta) fraternity at Otterbein. George began teaching at elementary schools around Columbus and then Dayton.

During a summer break, he worked as Purchasing Agent for a local home-builder and accepted a job managing construction of apartments in West Virginia. George returned to Ohio to resume his teaching career in the Kettering City Schools. He later earned a Master’s in Education Administration from Miami University. He became the Principal of Moraine Meadows Elementary School and retired after 23 years. He was later inducted into Kettering Schools’ Chester A. Roush Hall of Fame. After retirement, George continued working in education as a supervisor of student teachers at the University of Dayton. Following this and at the request of Kettering Board of Education, he completed a school term as principal for a colleague in Kettering who retired early. A short time later, he designed and taught Golf classes as an Adjunct Instructor at Sinclair Community College and remained in that position for 25 years until the age of 90.
Interests outside work were wide and varied. He learned woodworking from his father, he built many pieces of furniture for two of his homes, which he also worked with the builders to design. He participated in the Dayton Barbershop Society for a year. George enjoyed Opera and was a non-singing supernumerary in 27 productions of Dayton Opera. He also pursued a life-long interest in flying, and earned his Private Pilot’s license. George was honored in “Who’s Who in the Midwest”.

Preceded in death by parents, sister Jan Hypes and a brother John Vawter. George is survived by his wife, Helen (Newberry Mathis) Vawter, his two children from a previous marriage, Gregory Vawter ’74 (Anne) and Georgia Lee Gregory, grandson, Bryan Joshua Gregory (Michelle), sister Louise Churchill, six nieces and one nephew.