George Aplington

George R. Aplington passed away on September 17, 2017 at the age of 81. George is survived by his sisters, Mary Claire Tipton and Catherine Doyle and his nephews, William and James Doyle. George was born on May 13, 1936 in La Salle, Illinois to William and Elizabeth (La Vanway) Aplington. He was the youngest of nine children. His parents, five brothers and one sister predeceased him.

George served in the Army in 1958 as a company clerk and a trained medical corpsman. After his service in the Army, George moved from Texas to California. During his career, he worked for Hiller Aircraft in Menlo Park and Raychem Industries.

He loved to travel and made many motorcycle road trips with his friends, camping along the road and swapping stories besides the campfire.

George didn’t require a lot in life. His needs were basic and he kept his life simple. George’s motto was “Make do”. He had a great sense of humor and was always ready with a witty saying and a twinkle in his eyes. He had a passion for fast cars, old airplanes, motorcycles, Hiller helicopters, and was a historian of WWII military machinery.

Before retiring, George worked at Raychem Telecom Division Model Shop. The model shop provided support for Raychem product development and manufacturing equipment. George was an all around support guy, building automatic assembly machines, troubleshooting them during startups and then supporting them by maintaining and modifying them. He was a jack of all trades, fabricating, welding, wiring and repairing complicated machinery.

George was a kind, quiet man who loved trains and animals. He would sit for many hours on his porch feeding the squirrels who would come and take peanuts out of his hands. George was a good friend and neighbor. He will be missed.