Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

George N. Haines

George N. Haines, 92, long-time resident of Kimball, went to his Lord and Savior on Oct. 24, 2014 at his residence in Greeley, Colo. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Kimball. A reception in the fellowship hall will follow the service and all are welcome. Interment will be a private family ceremony at the Kimball Cemetery.

George N. Haines was born in Bonaparte, Iowa, to Beulah Mefford Haines and Omer Haines, a tenant farmer. George spent most of his early years moving from farm to farm and town to town, finally moving to western Wyoming. George had one sister, Mona Smith of Bellvue, Wash., now deceased. George graduated from Burns High School and soon after married Edith May Kinnison on Sept. 20, 1941. George and Edith lived in Los Angeles where George trained and worked for Lockheed Aircraft installing sheet metal on P-38 fighter planes. He soon joined the Navy and served in San Diego as a metalsmith, repairing airplanes during World War II.

After the war, George and Edith moved to Kimball and started Kimball Auto Parts which they grew and operated until George's retirement in 1987, when he sold the business. George was dedicated to the success of his business and spent many hours serving the farming and oil industries as well as the growing Kimball community, serving on city council and other leadership boards. He began golfing in 1962 and it became one of the great loves of his life. He experienced the fun of six holes-in-one over his golfing career.

George and Edith are survived by his three children: Dennis Haines of Idaho Falls, Idaho, Dean Haines of New Orleans, La., and Glenda Haines Heaton of Eaton, Colo. George was a loving father and spent countless hours on the sports benches and auditorium seats of Kimball schools watching and cheering on his children.

After retirement, he and Edith spent much time visiting their children, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren (one more on the way!). They also loved traveling south each winter, developing new friendships and creating new memories until Edith's passing in 2009. George greatly appreciated his community and his many friends, and always considered Kimball his home. In 2012, George moved to The Bridge Assisted Living in Greeley, Colo., to be near family.