Obituary of George Thomas Pohorski

George T. Pohorski George Pohorski passed away on April 15, 2011 at Dominican Santa Cruz Hospital. He was 87. George was born to Thomas and Janina Pryczak in Piotrkow-Trybonowski, Poland. He grew up in German and Russian occupied Poland and as a young man joined the Polish Underground. He was captured by the Germans and forced to drive trucks for the German Army. After Germany's surrender he drove a jeep and acted as a guide for the American Army. His service to the U.S troops in Europe aided his immigration to Canada in 1948. Living in The Yukon Territories, George worked in the lumber industry until 1949. He then moved to Vancouver, British Columbia where he drove taxicabs and attended the Vancouver Vocational Institute. There he also met Antoinette Teresa Tutschek. The couple married and moved to California in 1960, settling in Santa Clara where George took a job with Lockheed and attended Foothill College and San Jose City College at night. He later moved to Watsonville in 1969 where he continued to work for Lockheed as a mechanical engineer in their missiles program. Following his retirement from Lockeed in 1992, George moved to Minden, Nevada where he lived until his declining health required a return to Santa Cruz to be near his family in 2005. George enjoyed physical work and working with his hands. He liked working on cars and fixing most anything mechanical. He also enjoyed photography and playing Bridge. While living in Minden he belonged to a Bridge club and competed in many tournaments. He was preceded in death by his wife, Antoinette Pohorski in 1997. He is survived by his sons, Douglas Pohorski of San Jose and Jeffrey Pohorski of Madison, WI; three daughters, Alexandra Christerson of Aptos, Terry Pohorski of Hollywood and Jennifer Houts of San Anselmo; three brothers, Daniel Pohorski of Campbell, Stefan Pryczak of Poland and Krzysztof Pryczak of Poland. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Services will be at Benito & Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel, 1050 Cayuga St, Santa Cruz, CA on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. Visitation will be at the chapel on Wednesday from 12 noon until service time. Interment will follow at Pioneer Cemetery, 66 Marin St., Watsonville, CA. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Silicon Valley and Monterey Bay Area Chapter, 675 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95112-5156.