East Montpelier, VT William Howard George, Jr., 68, of Route 14 in East Montpelier Village, died unexpectedly on Friday, January 3, 2020 at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center after a brief illness. Bill was born on September 22, 1951 in North Adams, MA, the son of William and Harriet George. He spent his younger years living in Pownal, moving with his family to North Montpelier when he was 11. He was proud to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America as a member of Troop 214 on October 30, 1967. He was a graduate of the Montpelier High School class of 1969. He later attended Lyndon State College and then transferred to Goddard College where he received a Bachelors degree in Vermont History in 1980. Bill worked for most of his career for the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles where he worked on Commercial Truck permitting. He was a Vermont State Fire Instructor for many years. He later worked for Formula Ford where he would transfer cars between dealerships. On September 3, 1984, Bill married Julie Singer in Montpelier, VT. Bill had a passion for the fire service and served since he was 16 years old. For a short time he held a membership in the Moretown Fire Department and the former Goddard Fire Brigade. Most of his fire service career was with the East Montpelier Fire Department, where he proudly served the communities of East Montpelier and Calais for 40 years. Bill worked in many capacities including captain, fire ground operations, administration, and Emergency Planning. He enjoyed the comradery and friendships that came from being a member of this organization. In addition to being an instructor, he was an integral part of creating and running the Capital Fire Mutual Aid System's weekend fire schools where instructors and firefighters collaborated for intensive training. Bill is survived by his wife, Julie Singer George of East Montpelier; his daughter, Ericka Reil and her husband Joseph of Barre, VT; sisters, Hollibeth Pelkey of Barre, and Ginger Shields-Brady of Midway Park, North Carolina, numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Tragically, Bill lost his beloved grandson, Will Reil in 2018. He is also predeceased by his siblings, Claudia Pelkey, Lee George, and Kevin George. A Firefighters Funeral will be held 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 25, 2019 at the East Montpelier Fire Department. Firefighters that are planning to attend are asked to wear their dress blues. The family is asking that memorial contributions be made to the Vermont Center for Independent Living, 11 East State Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, or The New School of Montpelier, 11 West Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, or the East Montpelier Fire Department, P.O. Box 146, East Montpelier, VT 05651.