George Fagin

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Biography

George was born in 1913 in Dallas, Texas. He met his wife, Ethel Wohlgehagen, in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1938; they married a week later. Theirs was a stormy relationship, but their marriage endured for 64 years, ending with Ethel's death in 2002. George died 3 years later in 2005.

Military: George first served as a cavalry trooper and bugler in the Texas National Guard. He subsequently enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he served on many ships, including the U.S.S. Arizona (BB-39), the USS John D. Edwards (DD-216), the USS Black Hawk (AD-9), the USS Memphis (CL-13), and the U.S.S. Nashville (CL-43). While with the Far East Fleet in the 1930s, he saw the arrival of the first ever trans-pacific air mail flight, participated in the search for Amelia Earhart, and was awarded a certificate for valor at Soochow Creek during the Battle of Shanghai.

At the beginning of World War II he was on the Nashville, which was stationed at Pearl Harbor but away at sea when the Japanese attacked. During early 1942 the Nashville sailed with the task force escorting the Doolittle Raid, then swung north to bombard Japanese forces in the Aleutians. George was serving as a gunner on the deck guns during that period, in addition to his duties as a Carpenter's Mate. Six months later he was half away around the world, piloting landing craft during Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. He would subsequently do the same in five more invasions in the European Theater of Operations. At war's end, George was assigned to sail Nazi Admiral Doenitz' yacht from the French coast to the Bremerhaven enclave, where he would remain stationed for some time. With 16 years service accumulated when his current enlistment expired in 1948, George needed only 4 more to earn a Navy pension. However, he'd gotten used to his his wartime commission as an officer, and rather than revert to his pre-war rank as an NCO he chose instead to leave the Navy. He was discharged and rejoined his wife and daughter, who had moved to the state of Washington.

Business: Before joining the Texas National Guard, George had held various jobs including one at a butcher shop, where he remembered plucking chickens, and another at the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company. After leaving the navy he began working as a logger. He liked being his own boss, so he hired other loggers (including his brother Ed), bought some equipment and started his own company. They needed access to the Columbia to ship the logs they sold, so he located the Fagin Logging Company in Bingen. After of few years of steady work, the larger corporations began to buy contracts for all the available trees, forcing George and other independent loggers out of business. Putting his experience gained to work, George moved his family to Portland, Oregon and took a job as a traveling salesman for R. G. LeTourneau, selling heavy equipment in the logging industry. It was in Portland where he discovered golf, and that became a passion; he quit his sales job and began working as a bartender, because working nights allowed him to spend his days on the golf course.

The pattern of bartending nights and daytime golf continued after the family moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1961, but George wanted to get back into business for himself. He started by assuming the liquor license for the Silver Lounge at the Acacia Hotel, which was in direct competition with the lounge he'd been working for at the Alamo Hotel. Using the profits he made from the Silver Lounge, he bought the Acacia Hotel itsef and began running that. From that point forward he bought and sold many properties, the majority of which were apartments and houses, but included new drinking establishments as well (e.g. the Circus Room).

After many years doing business in Colorado Springs, he moved to Fort Meyers, Florida where he could devote his time entirely to golf. He worked at the local country club, giving lessons, repairing clubs, running the pro shop, etc. and played golf every day of the week. He never stopped buying and selling properties, but did in on a far smaller scale than in his younger years. His final move was to Apache Junction, Arizona, where he purchased two trailer houses, one to live in and the other as an investment.

Other Pursuits: George's father was a professional musician, and George attended music lessons regularly as a youth in Dallas. There is a newspaper clipping about a recital where he was featured both as a solo pianist and a singer. He also played a trumpet solo during halftime of a high school football game. In his later years, he was known to pick up a guitar or ukelele and start playing, typically The Darktown Strutter's Ball. He was a lifelong fan of the Count Basie Orchestra, and had a good ear for music generally.

George was also very active in sports while growing up in Dallas. He talked about playing baseball, where he preferred to play as catcher, and soccer, which seems surprising in that era (he said they used cardboard in their socks for shin guards). He played both with Babe Didrickson, who was a couple of years older than him. His comment: "She always played with the boys and didn't give an inch. She was tough as nails". That from a fighter - George loved boxing so much that he constructed a boxing ring in his back yard, and fought all comers. He won a state Golden Gloves title, and eventually fought for the fleet championship as a featherweight while in the navy and stationed in China.^[1]

George's entry from Descendants of Patrick Fagin, page 73 (with corrections):

(53311) George Aaron Fagin, b. Nov 6, 1913 Dallas Texas, son of Stephen D. Fagin & Elizabeth Walker; married Ethel M Wohlgehagen, Colo Sprgs May 13, 1938; dau of Henry L Wohlgehagen/Lora Bethel.

Children:

1) Barbara Ann Fagin, b. Dec 24, 1940 Long Beach, Cal, married Donald Lee Davis Jun 17, 1958

2) (533111) George Aaron Fagin II, b. Feb 22, 1950 Goldendale, Washington.

3) Nancy Louise Fagin, b. Jul 11, 1952 Portland, Oregon. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Fagin, George. Personal recollection, 1 Jun 2018.
2. ↑ Descendants of Patrick Fagin, published 1967 by the Fagin Family Association (page 73)