George Joseph Ptacek

George Joseph Ptacek Jr was born in St. Paul, MN on February 6, 1945 to George and Edith Ptacek and left this earth to be with the Lord on May 4, 2024 at age 79. He was diagnosed in 2014 with Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementia. He was a devoted husband, father, grandpa, uncle and friend. George attended St. Thomas Military Academy (where he competed on the swim team) and received his BA from Notre Dame University. Following college, he enlisted in the Navy and served honorably for two years. He married Carole Sorensen and they had one daughter, Kristin Anne. In March 1985, George married Cheryl (Cheri) Pederson and gained two stepchildren, Tanya and Scott Krueger. Together they had one daughter, Tiffany Jo. They led a very balanced yin and yang life together. George worked as a mainframe computer programmer for close to 20 years for Sperry Univac (now UNISYS), after which he became a real estate agent. He was called back to programming during Y2K at both Fingerhut and MetLife. When both eventually moved their programming to India, he started a successful tiling company. After retiring, he worked part-time for Home Depot in the flooring/tiling department to keep busy. For many years, George played competitive darts and loved to golf. He adored the outdoors, including camping, boating and landscaping. After their children left home, he and Cheri enjoyed traveling and took a few cruises in the Caribbean, Baltic and Mediterranean. They moved in 2017 to The Villages in Florida to spend their retirement years playing golf (where he achieved a hole-in-one) and enjoying the Florida sunshine as long as they could. George was a very amiable, friendly and kind person – an all-around nice guy. He would tease the dog relentlessly with his toys, and laugh at funny movies in his special way that made us all laugh. He had a very dry sense of humor and if someone didn’t get it, he would simply roll his eyes at someone else who got it, without saying a word. His demeanor was always calm, never combative. He was compassionate, respectful, helpful, and a good listener. His advice was always right on. Cheri was his devoted caregiver for the past 10 years. He was loved deeply by this family and will be terribly missed. His memory will be in our hearts forever. George was preceded in death by his parents, Edith and George Ptacek; and two sisters, Shirley (Henkel) and Edie (Busse). He is survived by his loving wife, Cheryl (Cheri); daughters Kristin (Curtis) White and Tiffany (Patrick) Connelly; stepchildren Tanya Krueger (s/o Larry Schindler) and Scott (Elaine) Krueger; grandchildren Brittney and Cory White, Bridget and James Connelly; nieces and nephews; and friends who enjoyed being around him. A memorial service and burial of cremains will be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in St. Paul, MN on Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 1:30pm with full military honors. Donations are preferred to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

George Joseph Ptacek

February 6, 1945 - May 4, 2024