George E. Golding died Saturday at his home in San Mateo from complications due to a stroke. He was 84.
A resident of San Mateo County since 1956, he was a native of Oakdale, Stanislaus County, and lived most of his life in California. During the Great Depression years, his family moved often, and he attended schools up and down the state. He graduated from grade school in National City, from high school in Petaluma, and from college at San Francisco State University.
Golding was a welder in a Sausalito shipyard early in World War II, briefly joined the maritime service, and served two years in the U.S. Army Air Force as a radar technician for B-29s. He remained in the Air Force Reserves until the Korean conflict, joined a California National Guard unit which was called to duty with the U.S. Army, in which he briefly served. He was honorably discharged and did his duty willingly and without reservation.
By profession a writer, he worked as an advertising salesman for the Riverbank News, as reporter for the San Bernardino Sun, editor of the Gustine Standard, photographer and reporter for the Eureka Times in Eureka, as a stringer for the San Francisco Chronicle, and as reporter, aviation columnist, and sometimes city editor for the San Mateo Times.
He won Associated Press awards for photography, the Catholic Newsmen McQuade Award for reporting, and several aviation and space writers awards for aviation reporting.
He was a founding member of the Peninsula Press Club, where he served as president, treasurer and director.
Golding also served as president of the Tri-County Newspaperman’s Guild. He was a member of the
California Writers Club and the Aviation and Space Writers Association. He was also a member of Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church of Burlingame.
In 1995, he and his late wife Joyce Golding published a 200-year history of her mother’s family, called “The Gallaher Trail, an Empire of Cousins,” tracing their origins in Pennsylvania and movement across North America in the first large wagon train to Oregon in 1845. After more than 49 years of marriage, Joyce died in 1997.
Golding, who died Saturday, is survived by Dorothy Freethy, his mate of more than a decade; his children, Earlene Will of Illinois, Brad Golding of San Diego, Dennis Golding of San Luis Obispo, Frank Golding of Boulder Creek, and Chet Golding of Vancouver, Wash. One son, Daniel Golding, died during childhood, in 1960. Golding had eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady of Angels Church, 1721 Hillside Drive, Burlingame, with a reception to follow.
His favorite charity was the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and donations to it in lieu of flowers are encouraged.