George Zahar was born October 4, 1926, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Selma and Samuel Zahar. He and his one brother, and four sisters, grew up in south Boston. At age 17, he lied about his age and joined the United States Navy to fight in World War II where he stayed until the war was over and the soldiers were released. After the war his first child, Sandy, was born.
George had enjoyed his time on the open ocean with the Navy so he joined the Merchant Marines. This is how he managed to end up in Port Arthur, Texas, one evening mostly broke and drinking a beer sitting next to a man named, Albert Forster. George was just a little older than Albert’s kids and Albert took a shine to him. He and his wife took George in and offered him a place to stay anytime he came to town. This friendship created enough roots for him to save some money and start classes at Lamar University. George eventually graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Geology. After graduating, he worked for a year at Texas Instruments in Houston, but he missed the sea so he signed back on with the Merchant Marines. The years were good to him and he had three more children; Keith, George, and Samuel.
The Merchant Marines took him across the entire world. He ran ammunition up the rivers in Vietnam, spent six months in the Persian Gulf, made it a point to taste the best kibbi in new areas, shopped the streets of Singapore for tiny matching kimonos for his granddaughters, met exotic and fascinating people, and tucked the very best ideas into the pockets of his “Members Only” jacket to share with us when he came home.
George was ferociously competitive. Checkers, backgammon, Rubix cube…he meticulously marked up and studied “how to” manuals. He liked to play until he won, and then he never wanted to play you again. George was a man who appreciated ending things on a positive note. He also loved to dance. One evening he was teaching his partner such energetic dance steps that she became flustered, gave up, and just started running to keep pace. At which point he excitedly shouted, “You’re finally getting it!” He loved a good joke, smoking Cigars and his Pipe, finger food, and rubbing his scruffy five o’clock shadow on your cheek when he gave you a hug.
At the age of 62, George retired as Chief Engineer from the Merchant Marines and he began working for London Offshore investigating marine accidents. This lasted until he got mortared in Nicaragua and he decided that maybe he had hit his flavor threshold for certain adventures. He then retired completely in Beaumont, Texas, and visited his friends and family that he loved.
George spent his final days tucked into his son’s home reading murder mysteries and enjoying chocolate dipped cones from Dairy Queen. His brain remained keen and he was bright eyed until the very end, with just enough sarcasm to keep your reflexes sharp when you visited. He passed more light houses than lamp posts during his lifetime, and it is with heavy hearts that we wave a final goodbye to our beloved sailor.
George is survived by his daughter, Sandy Zahar, of Beaumont; sons, Keith Zahar, of Crystal Beach, George Zahar, Jr., of Dallas, and Sam Zahar, of Austin; grandchildren, Whitney Rich, Kari Zahar, Zakri Zahar, Robbie Scott, and Andrew Zahar; great-grandchildren, Haydn Rich, Ethan Rich, Sam Rich, and Alex Curtis; and sisters, Zanab Zahar and Sarah Zahar, both of Boston, Massachusetts.
A gathering of Mr. Zahar’s family and friends will be from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 31, 2016, at Broussard’s, 134 West Buccaneer, Winnie. His funeral service will be 11:00 a.m., Thursday, September 1, 2016, at Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont, with his interment to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Beaumont.
Memorial contributions may be made to Port Arthur International Seafarer’s Center, P.O. Box 1646, Port Arthur, Texas 77641 or to www.paseafarercenter.org.
