Family, friends eulogize Rotarian George Cade

DOWNEY - Family, friends and associates turned out en masse Monday at the emotion-filled funeral service for George Cade, longtime Downey resident and community leader who died of congestive heart failure early Wednesday morning last week. He was 82.Interment was at Rose Hills. An only son of Fred and Pearl Cade, Cade was born in Long Beach, graduated in 1946 from Downey High where he played the violin for the school orchestra, was in the glee club and played right tackle for the state championship football team. After earning a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona in Tucson, he saw service as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force based in Spokane during the Korean War. Accordingly he was given military honors, marked by the playing of Taps. Cade was eulogized as a man of integrity and faith who, because of his upright ways and good deeds, was "one who without doubt has gone straight to heaven." Said a family member: "He provided guidance and laughter, and he leaves a void that will be hard to fill." Longevity characterized practically every facet of Cade's life. He was married to wife Janet for 55 years, was a Downey Rotarian with perfect attendance for 58 years, and was president of his firm, Downey Welding and Manufacturing, Inc. the same number of years, winning many recognitions and distinctions along the way. His affiliation with the Downey Chamber of Commerce likewise went well beyond the half-century mark, and his active participation in community affairs over the years included involvement with such organizations as the LivingHelp Center, Downey Community Hospital, Arc, the Downey Rose Float Association, the Christian Business Men's Association (serving as its chair multiple times), serving as program chairman for the past 24 years of the Downey mayor's Prayer Breakfast, and funding the Cade Memorial Scholarship program at Life Pacific College in Azusa for over a decade. "His was a life well lived," affirmed another family member. In honoring Cade last August as Rotarian of the Month, Downey Rotary president Ingrid Martin said much the same thing: "George represents what a true Rotarian really is." He is survived by wife Janet; their three daughters Jeanne (Bill) Brewer, Jani (Nick) Lopez and Judy (Randy) Bevington; grandchildren Cade and Cassidy Bevington, and Austin Lopez. His extended family included his cousins Gerald Montgomery, Norma Floyd and Dolores Moore.

********** Published: January 27, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 41