A SAILOR, AN ARTIST, A FATHER AMERICAN INDIAN, WESTERN PAINTER JESS H. GEORGE DIES.

Byline: Holly Andres Staff Writer

RESEDA - A cowboy at heart, a man's man and 100 percent gentleman with the ladies is how family and friends will remember Western and American Indian artist Jess H. George.

George died June 13 at his home in Reseda. He was 81.

``Portraits were his specialty. They were so life-like they were almost scary,'' said sister Justine Streeton. ``I remember a T-shirt he had drawn on a child that looked so alive it looked like someone had put a piece of fabric on the canvas. He was keen on fine detail.''

Streeton said her brother used pastels and conte crayons to execute his drawings - never oils or paints.

``He always had that knack of drawing. It came natural to him. He didn't really identify himself as an artist,'' said Streeton of her younger brother, whom she described as a handsome, 6-foot-1-inch man. ``He had art training but just in high school classes.''

``Heading Home,'' depicting a cowboy waiting for a stagecoach, his gear in the foreground of the pastel drawing, won George a gold medal at the 2003 National Veterans Creative Arts Competition in Oklahoma City.

George used a very identifiable flourished signature, even though he simply signed ``Jess'' on his artwork.

``He was a fabulous artist. I watched him help my three sons to draw,'' said niece Bobbi Mason. ``I think he enjoyed passing on his technique to them. He was great with kids. He took time with them. My children especially remember the times he took them deep sea fishing. He was a great outdoorsman. He loved dogs and horses.''

George, a model airplane builder and motorized model airplane enthusiast, was also known as a great storyteller. No one ever tired of his stories, said Mason, because he embellished his life experiences so well.

``You would think that his war experiences would have changed his outlook, but he came out with such a great personality,'' Mason said. ``He was so charismatic. He was a people-friendly person and very outgoing. He was always cracking jokes. He was fun to be around.''

A Pearl Harbor survivor, George had plenty of military stories to share from his years in the United States Navy. He volunteered for the Navy at age 17 in 1941. He was stationed at the Naval Air Station at Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked. George served on the USS Saratoga (CV-3) and the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17).

George served with the Air and Sea Rescue Team in Alaska during the Korean War. His name is in the Registry of Remembrance at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. A marker will be placed at the Riverside National Cemetery in his memory.

George worked for the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulations, specializing in large animal handling. During his years with the department, George was commissioned to do canine and feline portraits for City Hall offices in Los Angeles. He retired in 1987.

Following his retirement, George and his wife, Levonia, a quilter, would travel to the western and American Indian art shows in California, Arizona and Nevada to sell and display their distinctive art and needlework creations.

George was born on April 24, 1923, in Omaha, Neb. His family moved to California when he was four years old. George was a graduate of Eagle Rock High School.

George is survived by his wife, Levonia; children Glenn, Jesse, Victor, Turhan, John, Andrea, Doralynn and Marisa; 12 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren and a sister, Justine Streeton.

A funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Reseda on Friday. A cremation was held.

Donations may be made to St. Labre Indian School, Tongue River Road, Ashland, MT 59003 or see www.stlabre.org.

Holly Andres, [phone]

holly.andres(at)dailynews.com

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