[List] Obituary: George McCanless

[Cecil Stokes]

  George McCanless Obituary

George Folsom McCanless, Jr. died peacefully in his Monte Sano home at 
the age of 91 on Sunday, December 15, 2024, in Huntsville, Alabama. 
George was born on Friday, December 13, 1933, in Morristown, Tennessee, 
to George Folsom McCanless, Sr. and Sarah Hardcastle McCanless. In his 
long life he had ten other birthdays which fell on Friday, December the 
13th, including the year he turned 13 in 1946, for which he was 
recognized in his local newspaper. In 2024, his often-told story during 
his long life also came true but with a different ending!
George graduated in 1951 from the McCallie School in Chattanooga, 
Tennessee and in 1955 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 
Cambridge, Massachusetts with a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical 
Engineering. While working as an engineer for General Motors in Flint, 
Michigan, George was drafted in 1958 into the U.S. Army and assigned to 
the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal. 
Directed by Dr. Wernher von Braun to develop the U.S. Space Program it 
later became the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. As a Private in the 
U.S. Army, he carried out the aerodynamic design of the supersonic wind 
tunnel, which still operates on Redstone Arsenal today. In later years, 
he published his research in The Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, and 
the peer-reviewed Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
In 1963, George married Christel Ludewig of Huntsville, Alabama. In 
their leisure time, George and Christel enjoyed traveling (Alaska, 
Russia, Europe and the USA), and cruising the waters of the Panama Canal 
as well as the Mediterranean, Baltic, and Aegean seas. Their favorite 
water activity was exploring the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico 
aboard their sailboat Easy Street, and successfully completing in 1997 a 
599-mile boat trip from Mobile, AL to Huntsville, AL on the 
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and the Tennessee River.
In retirement, George continued to be very active in the Huntsville and 
Monte Sano communities. He served as president of the Monte Sano Civic 
Association. Over the years he faithfully attended the Monte Sano United 
Methodist Church and served on various committees. He was a charter 
member and later president of the Monte Sano Club, a neighborhood 
swimming pool built by members of the community in 1962. During the 
summer of 2024, he still enjoyed swimming in the pool. He was recently 
recognized by the American Radio Relay League for 25 years of continuous 
membership in the national organization for amateur radio enthusiasts. 
His call sign W4SQ will be retired in a Silent Key ceremony thanks to 
the dedication of his fellow ham radio friend W4RK (Bill Gerth).
George is survived by his wife of 61 years, Christel Ludewig McCanless, 
daughter Katherine McCanless Ruffin of Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, 
cousin Nancy Jane Hale Logan of Raleigh, North Carolina and members of 
the Hale and the Hardcastle families. He was preceded in death by his 
parents, his sister Sarah McCanless Howell, and his Huntsville in-laws, 
Emma Jaglitz Ludewig and Hermann R. R. Ludewig.
The family will always be grateful for the support, love, and care so 
generously provided by extended family, friends, neighbors and 
professional caregivers/providers during George's final illness.
Celebrating the Life of George F. McCanless, Jr. (1933-2024) is 
scheduled for Saturday, February 1, 2025, 1 pm (CST) at the Monte Sano 
United Methodist Church, 601 Monte Sano Blvd, Huntsville, AL. Family, 
neighbors, and friends are invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, the 
family suggests any remembrance tributes be made to the dedicated 
volunteer organizations of the Monte Sano community: Monte Sano United 
Methodist Church, 601 Monte Sano Blvd SE, Huntsville, AL, 35801; Burritt 
on the Mountain Museum, 3101 Burritt Dr SE, Huntsville, AL, 35801; or 
The Monte Sano Village, P.O. Box 10063, Huntsville, AL, 35801, a 
non-profit volunteer organization supporting mountain residents so they 
may remain in their homes as long as possible.

Condolences can be sent to www.valhallafunerals.com 
<http://www.valhallafunerals.com>

George worked in Bill Aycock's Advanced Concepts Integration Department 
in 7611 in the early 1960s.
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