George Klose Obituary
George Klose died at his home at age 71 in Oceanside, California on May 6, 1996. He was born as Jerzy Klose in Zychlin, Poland on October 13, 1924 to Ottomar Klose and Eugenia Zapiwalow. He grew up in Warsaw during WWII and served in the Polish Home Army and participated in the Warsaw Uprising of August 1944. Captured by the Nazis along with his brother, they spent some time in a stalag (prison camp) and then after being liberated by the US Army in 1945, they were in various displaced persons camps in Germany where George was employed in various jobs, such as electrician, truck mechanic and later as a tracing officer to help reunite displaced persons with their families. His older brother died of tuberculosis in 1948, leaving him to fend for himself, since he was unable to return to communist Poland which instituted reprisals against soldiers of the Polish underground movement.
In 1949, George was sponsored by the National Lutheran Council for resettlement in the United States and he went to live and work on a farm near Wauneta, Nebraska for about a year and then moved to Omaha. In 1951, he met his future wife Marianne Lee Shields at a boarding house where they were both living and they married in October 20, 1953 at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana. He became an American citizen in 1955.
George's college education was interrupted by the war, but he was determined to use his knowledge of electronics to work his way up, first taking jobs as a press punch operator and then a welder of tank trailers. He attended Indiana Technical College to complete his education and then was able to get his first electrical engineering job at Lockheed Aircraft. In 1955, He moved to Southern California, raised two boys, Paul Stefan and Kenneth Damon, and lived there with his family for the rest of his life.
George first had a series of aerospace jobs helping design sensors for aircraft and missiles, then in 1969 worked at Optigan, an innovative keyboard and synthesizer that used a laser to read encoded music printed on clear vinyl disks. In 1972, he started working for Mattel Toys doing product design, inventing and prototyping new ideas, and his top achievement was the creation in 1976 of the Auto Race game, the first ever handheld electronic game. He was a holder of 7 patents.
George liked to tinker in the garage, play bridge, bowl and go dancing with his wife and take his family on road trips all around California and the Southwest. He is survived by his loving and dedicated wife Marianne, his two sons Paul (Amy) and Kenneth and his grandchildren Melissa, Rachel and Elyssa. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Pawel. He was cremated and there was no ceremony.
