George Joseph Peskuric

George Joseph Peskuric, of Edmonds, WA, passed away on May 20, 2012. He was surrounded by his loving wife of 64 years, Yvonne, and his four living children. He was known for his intelligence, discipline, strength and do the right thing attitude although he also believed there was nothing wrong with having a good time. He was 90 years old. George was born in Milwaukee, WI in 1921 and baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. A lifelong Catholic, his faith in God was the foundation upon which he structured his entire life. He graduated from Boys Technical High School, served as a Radioman and Electricians Mate in the U.S. Navy during World War II and achieved the rate of Petty Officer Third Class. Upon his honorable discharge he entered Marquette University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree. It was at this point when George began his career, literally, as a rocket scientist. Throughout the 1950s, George worked on various missile defense platforms including the Mace and Thor rockets. In 1965, he was hired by General Electric to work on the guidance system of the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) of the Apollo Spacecraft culminating in the first lunar landing on Apollo 11 in 1969. George received recognition for his role in solving a technical problem that allowed the Apollo 11 astronauts to liftoff from the moon and return to earth.After the Apollo Program, George moved into a career of nuclear physics by working with the Nuclear Power Plant Division of General Electric until his retirement in 1986.George is survived by his loving wife, Yvonne Emerson Peskuric of Edmonds; his daughters, Katherine Berryman and husband Rick of Renton, WA, Ann Peskuric and husband Ken Thiem of Bellevue, WA ; his sons, John Peskuric of Austin, TX, and James Peskuric and wife Barb of Edmonds, WA; his sister Florence Kysely of Greendale, WI; and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends and other family too numerous to list; George is predeceased by his oldest son, Thomas. His memorial service and burial will be at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at the Tahoma National Cemetery with full military honors and all friends and family are welcome to attend.