George Britton

George Britton, age 61, of Boyne City, MI passed away after his 4th battle with cancer, at home with his family on May 31, 2023. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Dorine; son Cody Britton and daughter Cadie (Zach) Vetter; his 2 brothers Rob (Sue) Britton, Bill (Lori) Britton; 3 brothers-in-law, Don (Connie) Brandt, Doug (Sue) Brandt, Duane Brandt; 2 sisters-in-law Deb (Dan) Cole and Dianne (Bill) Thurston; an aunt, Sue (Ralph) Roberts; uncle, Chuck Britton; and many, many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, nephews and cousins.  Also, his grand puppies, Duke, Dakota and Par.

He was preceded in death by all of his grandparents, his parents Bob and Joanne Britton, his parents-in-law, Joe and Maxine Brandt; 2 brothers-in-law Dennis and David Brandt; and cousins David Roberts and Karen Golovich. Also, his beloved grand puppies, Ruger and Trigger.

George met Dorine in 1981 at a Halloween Party. Rumor has it he wore a mask the whole time so he could watch her without being caught staring. But being the “shy” person he was, it was Dorine that made the first move by asking him to a hockey game after she had won tickets for the best costume at work for Halloween. The rest is history. They were engaged on February 15, 1982 and were married on December 11, 1982. They began their life together in Saginaw until October of 1984 when they welcomed their first child, a son Cody. It was at that point they decided to move up north where George grew up to raise their family. So in April of 1985, they moved to Boyne City, MI where they remained for the rest of his life. In 1986 they added a daughter Cadie to their small family and their family was complete until 2022 when Cadie married Zach Vetter.

George started his working life at the young age of about 10 when his brother began working at Ye Nyne Olde Holles. George would go with him to work and he would wash golf carts. He didn’t mind as it put him outside and on a golf course, two of his favorite places to be. He continued there until he moved to Saginaw in 1981. George worked at Saginaw Photo for 4 years as photography was something him and his dad enjoyed together. In 1985 they moved back to Boyne where George went to work for Allied where his father worked until his death. After working at Allied as an inspector for 10 years, he retired from there and went to Boyne Public Schools to drive school bus. While driving bus, he also started at Boyne USA in 2003 where he worked three quarters of the time until retiring from the bus driving in 2017 and going full time at Boyne. He held many positions at Boyne but his favorite was when he was grooming the hills for skiing, or testing out a cart he had just repaired on the golf course by driving it out on the course and of course, testing his swing on a few holes in the name of research.

George was not all work, he began officiating soon after moving to Boyne and officiated High School and Middle school basketball, football, baseball and softball. This also led him into volunteering as a little league umpire and then soon a board member of the Boyne City Little League where he and Dorine ended up volunteering for 34 years together. George became the tour guide for the spouses of the State of MI Little League District Administrators and our in-house food connoisseur where he lined up our restaurants when we attended training or the Little League Congresses every 3 to 4 years.

George loved doing things with friends and family and in the summer between their summer-based jobs, he could be found camping, boating, four wheeling, fishing (although as his boat name appropriately said “Fish Food”, I think he fed more than he caught) and his most favorite of all, Golfing. His favorite event of the summer was the “Britton Open” when the dads played against the sons for the years bragging rights. It consisted of 2 days of golf, lots of food, lots of fun, a ton of laughter and many shared memories, old and new alike. And of course, there was a lot of beer and bourbon. He loved to spend time with his kids, Cody and Cadie on the gun range or the archery range and test each other’s skills with the targets. George bought Cadie her first pink gun (anybody that knows Cadie, knows that almost everything she owns is pink). He also liked spending time on the boat with them taking them around to his favorite spots and laughing at his funny stories about growing up on the lake.

George and Dorine loved to travel around the country and they would drive to see as much of the off beaten sights they could find. Cadie had the same travel bug and because of her they were able to see some of the most beautiful parts of the country depending on where she decided to move to and live for a while. He was also a fan of the Food Channel and made travel plans around some of the best restaurants he watched on the show, “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives”. Many of their southern trips were always centered around the Kentucky area as he either had to restock his bourbon supply or get the newest flavor to try. They also were on a mission with Cody to see the Tigers play baseball in all of the Major League stadiums and had just been to Baltimore this spring. They had completed 8/15 watching the Tigers and 1 at the Astros stadium.

George touched so many lives that it was a standing joke in the family that no matter where we went, he would run into someone that knew him. He has left a hole in so many hearts that will never be the same again. His big hugs, infectious smile and his colorful wardrobe will be missed the most. RIP George until we meet again.

A celebration of life will be officiated by Pastor Deb Cole on June 10, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Boyne Mountain in the Vienna Room at the Mountain Grande Lodge.

Arrangements are in the care of Stackus Funeral Home.

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