George W. Tupper, 87, of Plymouth Meeting
George Wilder Tupper 87, of Plymouth Meeting, passed away peacefully on March 16 with his family at his side.
He was born in Norristown, PA, on October 23, 1930, the son of the late Verda (Anders) Cameron and Willard Carey Tupper.
He was called home on the same date that his beloved wife Barbara (Walsh) Tupper passed away exactly six years earlier.
Survivors include his five children, Deborah Farrington of Collegeville, Karen Gazzillo of Chadds Ford, Patricia (& Doug) Clovis of Collegeville, Chris Tupper of Delray Beach, FL, and Craig ( & Tracey) Tupper of Limerick.
George is also survived by 9 grandchildren, Andrew, Amanda, Ashton, Eric, Zachary, Kristen, Madison, Jesse and Joshua, and 5 great grandchildren, Adalynn, Ryan, Emily, Kaitlin and Ian.
In addition to his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by his brother Willard Carey Tupper, sister Jean Arlene Rose, and son-in-law Joseph Gazzillo.
He was a graduate of Norristown High School.
Mr. Tupper was an Electrician and proud 65 year member of I.B.E.W. Local 380. He was an Air Force Veteran of the Korean War.
He was a member of Olivet Schwenkfelder United Church of Christ of East Norriton.
George personified all of the best qualities of patriarch of his close-knit family. He exemplified strong family values and was the ideal role model for his children and grandchildren. He had a very robust constitution, and remained active and lived independently until his passing. He particularly enjoyed family gatherings, including weddings, birthdays, and christenings, and was at the center of all celebrations. George will be remembered fondly by all who knew him for his distinctive, hearty laugh.
Mr. Tupper was a lifelong avid fan of both professional and collegiate Philadelphia area sports teams, especially the Eagles, Phillies, Villanova and Temple. George also enjoyed attending his children’s, grandchildren’s and great-children’s sporting events over the years, and cheered them on while coaching from the sidelines.
His Funeral Service will be held on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at 11:30 AM from the Olivet Schwenkfelder United Church of Christ, 619 Township Line Road, East Norriton, PA 19403. The Rev. Leslie Kearney will officiate.
Friends may call on Wednesday morning from 10:00 AM to 11:15 AM at the Church.
Interment will take place in Limerick Garden of Memories.
In lieu of flowers, George’s family would appreciate contributions made in his memory to the Salvation Army of Montgomery County, c/o 300 Fayette St., Conshohocken, PA 19428.
Arrangements by Moore, Snear & Ruggiero Funeral Home, 224 W. Main St., Trappe, PA 19426 (610) 489-7900 www.msrfh. com
Since taking office last May, the liberal Moon has maintained that South Korea needs to lead on the North Korea issue.
In part, it was a matter of national pride for many South Koreans, who liken their country’s geopolitical situation to “a shrimp stuck between whales” — the whales being the U.S. and China.
Moon initially found little room to maneuver diplomatically.
The Trump administration was wary about Moon pushing for greater ties with North Korea even as Pyongyang carried out its biggest ever nuclear test explosion and test-fired intercontinental ballistic missiles. So Moon was forced to go more hard-line than he probably wanted and to join Trump’s sanctions and pressure campaign against Pyongyang.
Moon ordered provocative precision-guided missile tests immediately after North Korean weapons tests, something that even his conservative predecessors didn’t do. He also allowed the United States to install a high-tech missile defense system despite strong oppositions by China.
All the while, though, he kept working to reach out to the North.
The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, would prove to be a major opportunity.
Moon may have learned how to balance the alliance with Washington and his outreach to the North from his time as chief of staff for late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, who often had awkward ties with President George W. Bush over North Korea.
“Moon realized why relations with the U.S. suffered during the Roh government so he would know very well how to deal with the U.S.,” said Lee Daewoo, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea, who pointed out that Moon often gives Trump credit for bringing the North to talks.
The speed with which the two summits were set up shocked many, in part because of the period of intense animosity that came before.
The two Koreas have held leaders’ talks only twice since the peninsula’s 1945 division. There’s been no such contact ever between sitting U.S. and North Korean leaders.
The process this time was linked to the Olympics. In January, North and South Korea had their first dialogue in two years to discuss cooperation for the February games. The rivals agreed to march together to open the games and to field their first joint Olympic team in women’s hockey.
Kim sent his younger sister Kim Yo Jong to the opening ceremony, making her the first member of the North’s ruling Kim family to visit South Korea since the end of the 195053 Korean War.
The U.S.-North Korea summit talks were brokered by Moon’s envoys, who met with Kim Jong Un during a March 5-6 Pyongyang trip. They then brought Kim’s offer to talk to Trump, who accepted the proposal.
Moon called the summit deals a “miracle.”
“The world is paying attention,” Moon told advisers ZEGIESTOWSKY - George S., 86, of Gilbertsville and Naples, FL, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, husband of Dorothy A. (Newiger) Zegiestowsky, passed away Wednesday March 14, 2018 at Seasons Hospice in Phoenixville. Surviving along with his wife are three sons George Zegiestowsky fiancé of Susan Yeaney of Gilbertsville, Keith Zegiestowsky of Perkiomenville, and Gary Zegiestowsky husband of Tina of Franklin, TN; and six grandchildren Adam, Nicole, Ashley, Caitlyn, Emily, and Blake Zegiestowsky. A Funeral Mass will be held Wednesday March 21, 2018 at 11:00 AM at St. Philip Neri, 1325 Monday. “The fate of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Peninsula depends on whether we can seize on these opportunities.”
There is still a chance the summit between Kim and Trump never happens.
Pyongyang’s state media haven’t even officially confirmed or denied that such talks were agreed to. The two sides are also far apart on what details would be up for discussion.
It’s unknown what nuclear disarmament measures Kim might offer, what rewards he’ll demand and whether Trump will agree.
North Korea will be very reluctant to completely abandon a nuclear program that it’s spent decades building despite toughening international sanctions. Nuclear weapons are the core of Kim’s authoritarian rule, with the young leader promoting the socalled “Byungjin” policy of simultaneously bolstering his nuclear arsenal and improving the economy.
One step the North might take is to offer to freeze or scrap its longrange nuclear missile program, which has worried U.S. officials who think Kim might soon acquire the ability to fire nuclear warheads at the U.S. mainland.
Trump, for his part, has said America demands complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization. The North has said denuclearization of the peninsula can be possible when the U.S. completely pulls out its 80,000 troops from South Korea and Japan and stops annual military drills with South Korea that it claims are an invasion rehearsal.
Just as he was praised for setting up the summit, Moon could also be in the crosshairs should the talks fall apart or not bear fruit.
Moon would possibly face criticism from U.S. and South Korean conservatives that his overtures only helped North Korea buy time to perfect its nuclear program.
“It wasn’t a bad attempt to draw Kim Jong Un into talks via the Olympics ... but we still worked as a messenger for North Korea and I think that’s become a diplomatic risk,”said Go Myong-Hyun of the Seoulbased Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
But Lee at the Sejong Institute said any breakdown in talks shouldn’t be blamed on the mediator.
And even if the talks fall through this time, Lim Eul Chul at South Korea’s Kyungnam University said improved Korean ties could provide future opportunities to bring Pyongyang and Washington to the negotiating table. Klinerd Rd., Pennsburg, PA 18073. Interment will be held Thursday March 22, 2018 at 12:00 PM at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Wilkes-Barre. Visitation will be held Tuesday March 20 from 6:00-8:00 PM at Catagnus Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Inc., 1020 E. Philadelphia Ave., Gilbertsville, and again on Wednesday from 10:00-10:45 AM at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in George’s memory to Wounded Warrior Project, PO BOX 758516, Topeka, KS 66675. View obituaries or send condolences at www.catagnusfuneralhomes.com