Obituary of George William Wing

George William Wing; Loving Husband, Devoted Father and Grandfather, Athlete, Fan, Printer and All Around Great Guy, passed away after a brief but courageous battle with cancer on Sunday, May 3, 2015. He was born and raised in Somerville, MA with New England family roots dating back to the early 17th century. He supported his family and provided for his children’s college education working as a master printer by trade, finishing his career as a foreman with ACME printing in Wilmington. George was a competitive athlete in his youth and remained active throughout his life. Growing up he excelled in baseball, football, and basketball and was an avid rock and roll enthusiast. As an adult he enjoyed baseball, fishing, classic rock and roll, and collecting memorabilia as he amassed an impressive collection of baseball cards which he had curated over many years. George’s love of sports was shared with his three children who excelled in their own right in the Burlington sports community and on to the college level. . He was their biggest fan and supporter, never missing a single game no matter the season or time of day in spite of working second or third shifts throughout most of his life. True to this dedication, family vacations usually revolved around sporting events and tournaments from AAU basketball all the way to following the Tufts Jumbo baseball team on its trip through the Southern States. However George’s greatest role came recently in his life as he welcomed 4 granddaughters within the last five years; Caitlin, Julia, Fiona, and Caroline. All were fortunate to know him and love him as Papa. He was cherished and was invaluable and instrumental in their care. George was the loving husband of 45 years of Ann Marie (Debrase). Loving father of Jamie & his wife Danielle of Norwalk, CT, Kristy Cahill & her husband William of N. Reading, and Daniel of Burlington. Brother of Sandra McPhee of Medford, Ronald Wing of Burlington, the late Robert Cossette and Carol Barker. Incredibly proud grandfather of Julia & Caroline Wing and Caitlin & Fiona Cahill. Funeral Services will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (exit 34 off Rt. 128/95, Woburn side) on Friday, May 8 at 11 a.m. Visiting hours Thursday from 4-8 p.m. Interment in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. Memorials in George’s name may be made to Burlington High School Athletic Booster Club. Eulogy written by Jamie Wing When thinking about what I would say at the funeral of my father, it would have been easy to take the Hallmark approach: he was a great dad, a good man, etc. However Father Shen said something in his sermon that encompasses everything that I am about to say: “Well Done”. Over the past several days I’ve heard from many people wishing myself and my family condolences for the loss of my Dad, telling me how much they loved my him. Consistently people have referred to him as a “great man”. That got me to thinking that we hear that term used frequently for public figures, senators, presidents. However I think more often than not people use the term incorrectly. Usually what they mean is this is an accomplished man, but not necessarily a great man. We can all think of examples of people who were undoubtedly accomplished, but far from great. My dad was truly a great man. My dad had a rough childhood, certainly compared to the childhood he afforded myself and my two siblings. The odds were stacked against him from the very beginning. However in spite of the odds being stacked against him, his whole life he has been, for lack of a better term, winning. Early on in his life, I believe at the age of 18, he landed my mom, and I think we can all agree that she was clearly out of his league. Trust me on this, I'm an expert on women being out of your league and she was definitely out of his league. But she saw something in him at the age of 18 that became clear to all the rest of us over the next 45 years of his life. He worked incredibly hard his whole life. He began as an apprentice in his trade, eventually becoming a master of his trade. He did all this for one reason, to give his family a better life than he had. He worked nights most of my childhood, sleeping just a few hours a day to make sure he was awake when we left for school and when we came home from school. One thing that was very unique about my dad and something that I don’t think anyone here can say, I certainly cannot. He never missed one of his children’s sporting events or a major function. Not one single event, ever. I don’t know that any of us will come across someone again who can say that. A quick story: When I started playing college ball we were playing a game in North Carolina (you have to travel more in college than when you are younger). This was the first game of mine he had ever missed. That’s understandable – he lived in Burlington and I was playing in North Carolina: He missed the game because by game time he was only as far as Virginia in a rental car with the rest of my family in tow. That’s what he was, completely dedicated to his family, and that’s what made us what we are. We are all accomplished in our own right, whether through athletics, academics, our professional careers, etc. (you can guess which of those I fall into – I’ll give you a hint, it’s not academics). He had many great qualities about him. I think if you were to go around the room and ask 10 people what they thought his best quality was, you would likely get 10 different answers, and they would all be valid. However since I have the podium I’m going to tell you what I think his best quality was. They are two very related qualities: Selflessness and Courage. These are the qualities that above all else made him a great man. His willingness to endure extreme hardship and pain in order to improve the lives of those around him, if only a little bit, was nothing short of heroic. Several years ago my wife Danielle’s dad passed away. He died before we had or oldest daughter so my children never had a chance to meet their grandfather on my wife’s side. At one point during his illness my Dad’s doctors told him that there was nothing they could do to save his life, they could only marginally extend it, but at the cost of great pain and suffering. He told my mom that he wanted to continue that painful treatment because, and I quote: “I don’t want Julia and Caroline to grow up without a grandfather”. He was willing to endure enormous and completely unnecessary pain so that his grandchildren could have a grandfather for just a little bit longer. That is, in a single sentence, what he was. I’m going to end this eulogy with a poem. It was written in 1911 by a Greek poet named CP Cavafy. On the surface it refers to a the fall of the city of Alexandria in Greek mythology, but it’s really about courage. I’m not the type of person that generally goes around quoting poets, but this is one that I’ve always loved as it reminds me how I think one should approach life. Although my Dad almost certainly did not know this poem, I like to think that this something along the lines of how we would have told all of us all to deal with his passing. When suddenly, at midnight, you hear an invisible procession going by with exquisite music, voices, don’t mourn your luck that’s failing now, work gone wrong, your plans all proving deceptive—don’t mourn them uselessly. As one long prepared, and graced with courage, say goodbye to her, the Alexandria that is leaving. Above all, don’t fool yourself, don’t say it was a dream, your ears deceived you: don’t degrade yourself with empty hopes like these. As one long prepared, and graced with courage, as is right for you who proved worthy of this kind of city, go firmly to the window and listen with deep emotion, but not with the whining, the pleas of a coward; listen—your final delectation—to the voices, to the exquisite music of that strange procession, and say goodbye to her, to the Alexandria you are losing. - CP Cavafy