George J Weiss

George John “TV George” Weiss
Geb. 5. August. 1936, Gest. 15. Juli. 2026

Born and raised on Chicago’s north side to a German immigrant father who embraced assimilation and a strong midwestern mother, George was the only son, but one was enough! As a child, he enjoyed helping out his father, a skilled baker at Piper’s Bakery in Old Town. As a teen, George met his cherished wife, Pat, on the North Avenue bridge, which crosses Lake Shore Drive to the beach. George attended Lane Tech High School until his pranks caught up with him, and he then served and was a proud veteran of the U. S. Air Force. Stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska, and accompanied by Pat, Billy and Debbie, he excelled in building enormous snowmen, radio transmission and repair, and intercepting and scrambling Soviet radio signals during the height of the cold war in the 1950’s, and once back in Chicago, welcomed 4 more children: Jerry, Jimmy, Bobbi, and Kathleen. He and Pat moved from Bucktown to Old Irving Park to raise their family.

George took his trade to Chicago’s Albany Park, becoming a blue-collar success story, growing his family tv repair business into the premier electronics service center in the Midwest, while being a founding member of the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce and the Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation (LADCOR), where he reveled in driving slumlords out of the neighborhood, with his beloved German Shepherd, Baron, by his side. All the while, he was also a founding member, and served as President of NATESA (National Association of Television and Electronics Servicers of America), eventually merging it into NESDA (National Electronics Service and Dealers Association), also serving as President. George worked on behalf of the tradesmen, which raised the caliber of service education for technicians nationwide, providing consumers with quality and affordable support while holding manufacturer’s accountable for the quality of their products and honoring their warrantees, earning respect for his trade and the service industry, and livable wages for workers. Along the way, he had the luxury of making two true-blue friends, Leo Cloutier, III and Wayne Markman, sharing lots of laughs, kingmaking, superb meals, and some fine cognac. George finally learned what it felt like to have brothers! George continued working, organizing, and challenging the industry until finally retiring in 2016 at the age of 80.

While George worked long and hard for his success, he and his family also enjoyed the fruits of his labor at their lake home in Spring Grove, Illinois, AKA Fox Lake, AKA The Cottage, welcoming all comers. He found enjoyment in the driver’s seat, whether in his 1971 Triumph Spitfire, snowmobiling, or piloting a Cessna airplane. His ski boating years were legendary, from Moonbeam through his leisurely pontoon boat years. George enjoyed late afternoon slalom waterskiing, trick waterskiing, barefoot waterskiing, and backwards barefoot waterskiing, and a slow ride home where a 3” round steak was always waiting, along with his other beloved German Shepherds, Babe and Tippy.

In middle age, George’s life changed as he embraced his German heritage. George loved his existing family, but The Jet Age brought relatives from Germany to Chicago, and especially thrilling were visits from his sister Anna and his niece, Bernadette, and his cousins Rosa, Ria, and Anni and Tante Resl. This lit a fire in George. He hungered to walk in his father’s footsteps and, with Pat, made frequent trips to Aschheim, Bavaria in Germany and also to visit Anna and her children in Schliersee. He discovered a love for a family he never knew and a longing for a homeland that he never expected. His heart felt full and his spirit was awakened. His final trip to Germany was in the summer of 2019, where he tearfully and knowingly gave his final goodbye.

In his later years, he proselytized the exceptional care of Hines Veterans Hospital for everything from check-ups to life-saving surgery, visits made all-the-better by a stop at Gene and Jude’s for a genuine Chicago-style hotdog on the way home. George enjoyed exercising in his pool in Florida, cranking up the Strauss, welcoming any and all visitors, and took up playing the concertina to the joy of neighbors and agony of his family. He achieved a grandfather’s dream in hearing the laughter of his grandchildren and even the splashes of his granddog in his pool.

George and Pat spent most of the last 5 years living in Rockford, with their son, Jimmy, and daughter-in-love (not a typo), Karen, enjoying her amazing cooking and tender loving care. She gently fed him her rouladen and German fried potatoes, the last thing to ever cross his lips, other than Pat’s gentle kisses. George passed at home in Rockford, just before sunrise, on July 15, 2026, never alone.

George John Weiss, 89
Geb. 5. August. 1936 - Ges. 15. Juli. 2026
Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Uncle, Cousin, Godfather, Opa, Great Opa

Loving husband of over 70 years to Patricia E. Weiss (nee Curtin) and father of 6 children: William J. Weiss (Mary Stromberg); Deborah E. Weiss; Gerald J. Weiss (Deborah); James J. Weiss (Karen); Robert J. “Bobbi” Weiss (Suzanne Magerlein); and Kathleen Weiss Boyle (Jeremiah). Beloved Opa to Scott Weiss (Stephanie); Patricia Tomblin (James); Emmerie Weiss (Tanner Bjorge); Tiffany Weigartz (Brandon); Kyle Weiss (Laura); Erin Weiss (Rob Warndorf); Emmeran Weiss (Ashley); Jory Weiss; Kathleen Elaine Weiss (Nic Sansone); Robert J. Weiss; Bailey Rose Boyle (Evan Grove); Jameson Jordyn Boyle (Antoine Bennett). Proud Great-Opa to Payton, Parker, Autumn, Hailey, Morgan, Caleb, Emma Rose, and even the one on the way! Big brother to Patricia Neary (John). Cherished uncle, great-uncle, cousin, and Godfather to countless family members, near and far. Preceded to eternity by his parents, Emmeran “Emil” and Alice T. Weiss (nee Fuller), cherished sisters Anna Attlfellner and Constance Parker; and grandangel, Melanie Nicole Weiss.

George will be interred at Saints Peter und Paul Katholische Friedhof, Aschheim, Bavaria, Germany.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) https://aclu.org
The Southern Poverty Law Center https://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/
or The Trevor Project https://give.thetrevorproject.org

Stateline Cremations is assisting the family, 6204 Forest Hills Rd., Loves Park, IL 61111. www.statelinecremations.com