Obituary of George Edwin Gifford

A Memorial Gathering for George Edwin Gifford of Moscow Mills, MO, will begin at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, October 25, 2015 at the Knights of Columbus Hall near Old Monroe, MO. Full Military Honors will be held at 3:30 p.m. with a Memorial Service immediately following. Fr. Richard Rath, pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church will officate. Inurnment will be in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery at a later date. Mr. Gifford, 66, passed away Friday night, October 16, 2015 at his home near Moscow Mills. Born August 1, 1949 in St. Louis, MO, he was the son of George Isaac and Eva Arlene Huitt Gifford. George was a 1967 graduate of Winfield High School. He served his country in the United States Army from Mach 26, 1969 until he was honorably discharged on March 25, 1971. He served in the Vietnam War as a Sniper with the 101st Airborne. George was united in marriage on October 6, 1973 in Old Monroe, MO to Charlene Marie Burkemper. This union was blessed with two children: Sara and Benjamin. George earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Northeast Missouri Teacher’s College in 1975 and later his Masters Degree from National Lewis University. George went on to earn an additional 48 credit hours. He taught Industrial Technology for two years Winfield High School and Wright City High School for two years. George then taught at Fort Zumwalt North High School from 1979 until 1989, before spending the remainder of his career at Fort Zumwalt South High School. He was the ZAEP (Zumwalt Alternative Education Program) Advisor for 16 years. He retired in June, 2005 after 30 years of teaching. George was an avid fisherman, golfer, traveler, joke teller and loved being with his grandchildren. George was a member and Past Commander of the American Legion Post #420 in Old Monroe. He was a former LCCOA Board Member and served on the Panel for Restorative Justice. George was an active member of the Phi Lambda Phi College Fraternity Alumni Association. He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Eva Gifford; one brother-in-law, Rev. Louis Hunt; and one brother, James LeRoy Gifford, who died January 30, 2003. Survivors include his beloved wife of 42 years, Charlene Gifford of Moscow Mills; two children: Sara Snider and her husband, Travis, of Moscow Mills and Benjamin Gifford and his wife, Erica, of St. Peters, MO; and two grandchildren: Ella and Mason Snider. George also leaves two brothers: Jerrold “Jerry” Gifford and his wife, Pat, of Winfield, MO and William “Bill” Gifford and his wife, Yvonne, of Ballwin, MO; two sisters: Peggy Hunt of Winfield and Sandra Thoelke and her husband, Carey, of Keytesville, MO; one sister-in-law, Rita Gifford, of Old Monroe; numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Memorials may be made to LCCOA, American Legion Post #420 (or) the I.C. Building Fund in care of Carter-Ricks Funeral Home, 3838 East Highway 47, P.O. Box 253, Winfield, MO 63389.