George Petras

George was born in North Braddock, Pennsylvania to Anna Olinick and George Petras Sr.  who were themselves born in Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively. He is survived by sons Gregory P. Petras (Jeanette) of Pahrump, NV; Mitchell T. Petras (Lisa) of Mission Viejo, CA; Daniel A. Petras (Elke) of Irvine, CA; daughter Tracie K.  Petras (Fullerton, CA); sisters Mary M. Skutski (Karl, PA) and Shirley A. Skrabski (Fred, PA); grandchildren Ethan, Dylan, Livia, Annika  and Miles;  and six nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Jolene and brother Donald.George attended Scott High School in North Braddock graduating with the class of 1945. He enlisted in the army in 1946 where he trained at Camp Polk, Louisiana followed by service in Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he was a radio operator and was assigned to the signal corps sending and receiving messages by international Morse code and light signals.  He received an honorable discharge in 1947 and returned to North Braddock where he worked at Westinghouse. In 1951, he completed training in commercial electronics and repair at Penn Technical Institute in Pittsburgh.This training took him across the country installing defense industry flight simulators for the F-86D Saber fighter plane and the F-101B Voodoo, the world’s first supersonic photo-reconnaissance plane. While working at Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, Kansas, he met Billie Jolene Hummel (1937 – 1982), whom he described as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  They married in 1961 and spent two weeks on honeymoon in New Orleans, Louisiana.In 1961, the couple moved to Orange County, California where George began his 30-year career as an electrical engineer with Rockwell International.  He worked for the Space Division at Rockwell International from 1963 to 1967 where he documented the operation of the Apollo Mission Simulator and helped publish the vehicle’s detailed Operator manual. He also worked on several defense-related projects including the Minuteman Missile System, the F-111D, and the B-1 bomber. He retired in 1991.George loved to read, especially favoring historical biographies, and was an all-around general athlete in his younger years.  He was an avid baseball player and fan, a golfer, a bowler, and a crossword puzzle enthusiast. He was universally known as generous with a wonderfully sardonic sense of humor and as a husband, father, and grandfather; he loved and led through his actions more than words.In life, George was surrounded by a close and loving family and friends who will continue to love him and miss him deeply.