The Shorthorn - BREAKING NEWS: Communication instructor dies Sunday: "Communication instructor George Proctor died Sunday after becoming ill last week, said communications studies chair Charla Markham Shaw. The cause of death has not been determined.
Kim Jones, journalism instructor and friend of Proctor and his wife, said he was hospitalized last week. Doctors ran tests but couldn't determine the cause of his sudden illness."
Thanks to James Reasoner for the link. I met George at the same AggieCon James did. James' comments on George are here.
R.I.P., Elliot
1 hour ago
6 comments:
knew George and Lana Proctor from the early 1970s when Tom Reamy revived Dallas Science Fiction fandom. I remember him, Buddy Saunders and Howard Waldrop were in that group. Sad day. I remember George and Bob Vardeman as collaborative writers and many wonder dinners and gab fests at Aggiecon in the 1970s and 1980s with them.
One odd thing, I know more of the old 1950s Dallas Futurians being alive than the later Dallas Science Fiction Society! Greg and Jim Benford, Dick Koogle , Lyndon Henry, and me, ....tho George Jennings (long time San Antonio radio personality died in early 2007),
Al Jackson
Thanks for the memories, Al.
I met George at a comic con room party in '72. We had a great talk and later on her wrote some nice things about me in a fanzine. I'm sorry to learn of his passing.
FT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM obit:
http://www.star-telegram.com/arlington_news/story/814504.html
UT-Arlington lecturer known for love of writing, horses
By MARK AGEE
rmagee@star-telegram.com
ARLINGTON — George Proctor was a "Renaissance cowboy" whose joys were horses, writing and writing about horses, friends say.
"He had a passion for everything," said Bob Vardeman of Albuquerque. "He was an endless well of enthusiasm."
Mr. Proctor, a senior lecturer in communications at the University of Texas at Arlington, died Sunday afternoon of an undetermined illness a few days after checking into a hospital. He was 61.
The Arlington resident was born in Lampasas and went to school in Gilmer, but he did most of his growing up at horse tracks around the country where his father trained thoroughbreds, said his wife, Lana Proctor.
Several of Mr. Proctor’s brothers also went into horse training, but he decided it was not for him, she said.
"He decided he didn’t want to be mucking stalls at 4 a.m.," Lana Proctor said.
He earned a journalism degree from Texas Tech University in 1969 and took a job at The Dallas Morning News reporting on police and the courts. He earned a reputation as a troublemaker around the courthouse, his wife said, before his love of horses and Texas history led him to fiction.
He became a prolific writer, publishing more than 90 books, mostly Western and science-fiction novels. He was nominated for several writing awards and was also an artist and had illustrations published in magazines.
"He grew bonsai trees. He built me a telescope for my birthday," Vardeman said. "I think he could do just about anything."
For the last 12 years, Mr. Proctor lectured at UTA in journalism, marketing, advertising and other subjects. He was also working on a master’s degree there.
More than 150 friends, relatives and former students crammed into a lecture hall Wednesday afternoon for a memorial service.
Many expressed shock at his quick passing. A slide show during the service included a picture of him under a sunset in the Florida Keys. It was taken 11 days earlier.
"He was healthy, happy and having a great time," Lana Proctor said.
Other survivors include sisters Mari Jo Holloway of Gilmer and Barbara Bomar of Flower Mound; brothers Hap Proctor of Ocala, Fla., and Tom Proctor of Louisville, Ky.; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He grew bonsai trees. He built me a telescope for my birthday. I think he could do just about anything."
Friend Bob Vardeman
Thanks, Todd.
I'm going to re-read one of his books and perhaps my sadness will be eased by the fact that he's still here within his work.
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