George Washington Smelcer,

George Washington Smelcer, Jr., born on the fourth of July, 1951, passed this life at the age of 56 on May 24, 2008. George received a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering from Vanderbilt University and devoted his career to public service. He worked 11 years for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and 22 years with the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, working on projects to help make our world a cleaner, healthier, and safer place to live and work. George was known for his creativity, energy and happy spirit. He loved to help the people in his life, whether they were his own kids, relatives or friends. He especially found great joy in interacting with young people. George was always up for an adventure and had a child-like spirit for fun and sport. He traveled extensively throughout Tennessee, and enjoyed trips to Utah, Hawaii, Alaska, and Germany. Whether biking down a Utah mountain, jumping with wild abandon into an ice-cold swimming hole, kayaking with humpback whales, taking a prop-plane trip around Denali, hiking the Smokies, or fishing for trout in Caney Creek, whatever George did you could always expect something â??fantasticâ?? to happen. His enthusiasm knew no bounds and served him well in the sport of golf where he was one of the few golfers that could shoot par on a hole after loosing his ball in the corn field. He found the â??foot wedgeâ?? to be a very useful club. George leaves his twin sons, George W. Smelcer, III and Jesse L. Smelcer; his wife of 6 years, Sara Cornwell-Smelcer; his mother, Billie Smelcer who raised him from early childhood; grandmother, Lottie Duffie; 7 brothers and sisters; 16 nieces and nephews; and a huge extended family whose children consider him their â??Uncle Georgeâ?? due to his deep caring and support. Preceding him in death were his father, George W. Smelcer, Sr.; birth mother, Inez Clark; and grandparents, Adam and Lola Smelcer, and James Duffie. Funeral services will be held at Hillâ??s Union United Methodist Church in the Sandy Ridge Community at 1:00 pm on Sunday June 1, 2008, Interment service will follow in the Hills Union Church Cemetery. Friends may visit with the family on Saturday, May 31, 2008 from 6-8 pm in the chapel of Farrar Funeral Home, in Dandridge. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Tennessee Wildlife Federation to honor Georgeâ??s passion for kids and the environment. Your gifts will support youth education and land and water conservation programs in Tennessee. Please make checks payable to Tennessee Wildlife Federation and include in the memo line, â??In memory of George W. Smelcerâ? for proper acknowledgement. Mail checks to: Tennessee Wildlife Federation, 300 Orlando Avenue, Suite 200, Nashville, TN 37209 Arrangements by Farrar Funeral Home in 162 E. Meeting Street, Dandridge, TN 37725