Obituary of George Dickerson

George J. Dickerson of Tulsa, slipped quietly from this life to the next on Monday, April 9th, after a brief illness. He was 93. George was born to the late William and Imogene (Stark) Dickerson, Jan. 27, 1919, in Ringgold County, Iowa. He was given the nickname Buster by his mother; it was subsequently shorted to Bus, which is how he was known to his extended family for many years. George attended Mt. Ayr Public Schools. He grew up on the family farm and near the end of the Great Depression, George followed his father to the logging camps in Oregon. He was drafted into the United States Army in March of 1940 in Portland, Oregon, rising to the rank of Third Grade Technical Sergeant. He conducted Basic Training at Fort Lewis Washington and was initially shipped to England as part of the 45th Armored Division. He later participated in the Tunisian campaign in North Africa and the invasion of Italy during World War II. After the war he returned to Iowa and married Thelma Cortner. Together they had three sons. George was employed as a butcher in several communities across Iowa, eventually relocating to Tulsa in 1956. He worked as a meat cutter in a small grocery store on North Peoria and took night courses in refrigeration. He worked for Dugger Refrigeration for about ten years, servicing large commercial refrigeration/freezer units. He later worked as an appliance service technician for JC Penney. With additional education and training George earned his Stationary Engineers license and took care of some of the most iconic buildings in downtown Tulsa, including the Williams Brothers Getty and the Phillips buildings and Oklahoma Osteopathic Hospital. George married Laurina Inez Robinson on February 12, 1980. He was a long time active member of the Gilcrease Hills Baptist Church. He enjoyed baking and gardening; into his late 70s he could be found mowing many of the lawns in his neighborhood. George was preceded in death by his parents, 6 of his 7 siblings and his oldest son Allen. He is survived by his wife: Laurina Dickerson of Tulsa; his older brother: Hollis Dickerson of Des Moines, Iowa; his sons: Ron (and Mary) Dickerson of Tulsa and Kent (and Debi) Dickerson of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin; his daughter-in-law: Willie Dickerson of Skiatook; his step-children: Larry (and Mary) Gulley of Cleveland, Oklahoma , Loretta Creamer of Tulsa and Wayne Gully of Tulsa; as well as 10 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and 2 great, great grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, a loving Church family and a myriad of good friends and neighbors. The Family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. Thursday in the Ninde Brookside Funeral Home. Funeral service will be 2:00 p.m. Friday in the Gilcrease Hills Baptist Church with Rev. LeRon West officiating. Interment will follow in the Memorial Park Cemetery. The family request that memorials be made to Gilcrease Baptist Church, 2001 W. Newton St., Tulsa, Oklahoma 74127.