Long-time resident and Mariposa pioneer, George Greenamyer passed away just short of his 99th birthday.

He was one of seven children born to Charles and Ethel who settled in the area around 1918. George grew up in Live Oak Springs and attended school in Grub Gulch where his mother was the teacher. The family left the area in 1921 and settled in Southern California only to return in 1928. George stayed in Southern California where he met his late wife Bette Bessent and they were married in 1933.

After their two children Cloys and Darryl were born they moved back to Mariposa and he tried his luck at gold mining, working the Granite King and the Gold Coin mines. After a year the family moved to Arizona to further their mining experiences. However, after going broke, George moved his family back To Mariposa where they lived in the Count’s house, which today has been preserved and is on display at the Mariposa Museum. At the beginning of the war George moved the family to Downey where he went to work for Douglas Aircraft and Downey Machine (which he co-owned). He worked the two jobs and taught himself trigonometry at night. After the war, George went to work as a machinist for Grayson Heat Controls, and during that time, their third child, Jill, was born. When Grayson Heat became Grayson-Greenamyer, the company moved to Monrovia and so did George and family where he became a member of the Mounted Police, and an active horseman.

Upon retirement, he and Bette moved back to Mariposa where they lived in the small apartment at the Mariposa Sand and Gravel plant down by the fairgrounds. George then joined with his brothers Gordon and Ed and built the Idle Wheels mobile home park on the Highway 49 North, where he still maintains a mobile home. Known for his honesty, integrity and hard work, he was an active member of Rotary, one of the founders of Yosemite Bank, and at the young age of 88, built the bridge which crosses the creek at Joe Howard Road. The Greenamyer family has been an integral part of the community and George, along with all six of his siblings, spent their retirement years in Mariposa. George’s legacy lives on, and he will not soon be forgotten.

He is survived by his three children, Cloys, Darryl, and Jill as well as six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Services will be held Saturday, May 22 at 2 p.m. at the Mariposa Church of Christ on Highway 49 where George and his wife were faithful members.