George France III

George McGarland France, III, known as “Sonny” by many, was born October 8, 1931, in Huntington, West Virginia, the son of George McGarland France Jr. and Aneda Erva Tarrer France. In Huntington, he served as a lifeguard, along with Floyd Meadows, Gus Eggleston, and Fannie Terry at the then segregated A.D. Lewis Pool. He graduated from Douglass High School in 1949, where he played football. That same year he enrolled in West Virginia State College, from which he would graduate as a Second Lieutenant, with a B.S. Degree in Chemistry. Mr. France served in the United States Army during the Korean War attaining the rank of First Lieutenant. After being discharged from the Army, he served in the Army Reserves, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. On December 12, 1953, he married Oklahoma City, OK, native Rhuea Marie Patton, his wife of 65 years. As a chemist, he held various governmental and corporate positions, including with the Department of Energy and the Kerr McGee Corporation.