George A. Gurnis, age 88, formerly of Cohasset, MA, recently of Dallas, TX, passed away peacefully on Friday, August 26, 2011, surrounded by his family.  George was born in Randolph, MA to John and Barbara (Lucas) Gurnis.  He graduated from Randolph High School.  During WWII, George served in the USCG reserves while tending the family farm in Randolph and working at the Hingham shipyard.  Following the war, he attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on a full baseball scholarship and was the starting catcher his freshmen year.  He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, specializing in nuclear power.  Following his graduation, he returned to New England and started working at the Bethlehem Steel Company at the Quincy shipyard.  It was at this point that he met Barbara Dempsey whom he married.

The newly married couple moved to Groton, Conn. where George had new position working on the design of nuclear submarines with the Electric Boat Company.  In 1959, George moved his young family backed to the Boston area and settled in Cohasset, starting a new job with the Quincy shipyard.  Here he worked on the design of the nuclear propulsion of a variety of vessels, including the USS Bainbridge (launched in 1961), one of the first nuclear power surface vessels in the US navy. It was in Cohasset that George and his wife, Barbara, raised their four children.  George was a Little League coach for many years, a Boy Scout Leader, and participated in the Cohasset Drama Club.

In the early 1970's George starting working for Stone & Webster in Boston where he designed commercial nuclear power plants.  George continued working on nuclear projects until he retired at the age of 70.  His final project was the design of an experimental reactor for the US Department of Energy in the early 1990's.  George was a brilliant engineer, but he is best remembered as a quiet, caring individual, a devoted husband and father.  He is survived by his sons Peter J. Gurnis and his wife Erin of Dallas and Michael C. Gurnis and his wife Melanie of Altadena, CA, his daughter, Alicia (Gurnis) Barry and her husband, Kevin, of Holden, MA, and his eight grandchildren.  He was predeceased by his wife Barbara (Dempsey) Gurnis who passed away in January of 2010, his daughter, Barbara E. Gurnis, and his sisters Josephine Kelsey of Randolph, MA and Anelia Yukanis of North Brookfield, MA.

A funeral Mass will be held Saturday, November 19th at 11:00 at St. Anthony's Parish in Cohasset, followed by Inurnment at Mayflower Cemetery, Duxbury.

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