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George Douglas Gemind |
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June 1, 1960 ~ February 18, 2018 |
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February 20, 2018 |
George D. Gemind, 57, Bonners Ferry, a recently
retired firefighter for the City of Glendale,
California, responded to his last alarm on
Sunday, February 18, 2018, passing into God’s
glory from occupational Stage 4 Lung Cancer. A
memorial service will be held at 1 p.m.
Saturday, March 3, at Mountain Springs Church,
6789 Main Street, Bonners Ferry.
George, whose family called him by his middle
name “Doug,” married Cathy on October 18, 1986,
in Valencia, California.
He joined the Glendale Fire Department in March
1986. In addition to his firefighting duties, he
spent much of his career designing and
fabricating parts to equip the firefighting
apparatus, setting high standards for the
department’s equipment.
He retired as a staff assistant from the
department on December 3, 2013, and he and Cathy
built their dream home in Bonners Ferry.
George was talented in so many ways. In his
younger years, he built and raced his VW Bug the
“Red Sled.” He was featured in various drag
racing industry magazines, including Hot Rodding
and VW Bug in the early 1980s.
He and Cathy ran a small construction company in
California for nearly 20 years, where he was
regarded as a quality craftsman with a great
work ethic. His projects included everything
from foundations to finish work, but it was
laying tile that he enjoyed the most. After
moving to Bonners Ferry, the building bug bit
him again, and they formed Omega Builders Inc.
with Brad and Janice Graupner.
Fun-loving and adventurous, he and Cathy enjoyed
traveling across the U.S. on road trips without
reservations. He was just as comfortable in a
five-star restaurant as he was snorkeling in
Raratonga in the South Pacific. George was an
avid dirt bike rider and rode thousands of miles
through Baja and for many years took on the
challenging Colorado 1000 dual-sport rides.
His love of the natural beauty in both areas
prompted him to trade in his XR650 dual-sport
motorcycle for a Polaris RZR side-by-side
vehicle just so he could take Cathy on rides and
show her all that he had seen. George’s absolute
favorite vacations were spent with Cathy, her
sister Peggy and her husband Bill, off-roading
across the highest trails in and around Taylor
Park, Colorado.
George was extremely honest, exceedingly
generous, exceptionally hard-working, incredibly
wise and tremendously humble. He was always more
interested in hearing your stories than he was
talking about himself. He turned clients into
friends and friends into family. Most remarkable
was his extraordinarily loving and selfless
devotion to Cathy; he cherished her and always,
always, always opened the door for her.
George once said that he was hesitant to accept
Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior because he
thought that it meant he’d have to give up too
much. Eventually, he realized that he had
everything to gain, and he turned his life over
to God.
He said it was the greatest decision he’d ever
made.
During his firefighting career, George responded
to countless calls, but the greatest call was
from Jesus. The call for him to come home. A
call he was willing and eager to answer.
George's wife Cathy posted on Facebook:
"Our prayers were answered for George's complete
healing at 6:30 this morning when he passed
peacefully from my arms into the arms of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
"Though our marriage was always filled with
love, these last months together were the
sweetest. For five months, we fought very hard
to save his life, but we also prepared for his
possible death. And while my heart hurts over my
loss, I'm truly heartbroken for all of you who
knew him and had the privilege of calling him
"friend." He will be missed, and you, like I,
will grieve.
"George believed in Jesus. He was saved by
Jesus. He had a personal relationship with
Jesus. He served Jesus. He knew that because of
Jesus, he would live eternally with God after
death.
"'Then I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Write
this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
from now on.' 'Yes,' says the Spirit, 'They will
rest from their labor, for their deeds will
follow them.' (Revelation 14:13)
"I am forever grateful for the outpouring of
love and support we received from all of you who
took time to read, react, and comment on this
page as we posted updates on George's battle
against cancer. He found such joy in reading
your comments.
"George is at home, and he is at rest. For that
we rejoice. All glory to God!
"Love in Christ, Cathy"
Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and
the life. The one who believes in me will live,
even though they die; and whoever lives by
believing in me will never die. Do you believe
this?' (John 11:25-26) |
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