George J. Nepereny

George was born June 16, 1944 and passed away October 13, 2023. He is survived by several nieces and nephews. George did not have any children.

Raised in the farmlands of Illinois, George earned his private pilot's license in 1964 and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1965 for the Warrant Officer Flight School Program. After graduation, George was sent to Pleiku, Vietnam, and served in the 4th Infantry Division as a UH-1 helicopter pilot flying resupply, medivac, reconnaissance and helicopter gunship missions. Halfway through his tour of combat, George received a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant. Upon his return to the United States, he was selected to attend college under the Army's Two Year Completion (Bootstrap) Program, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University. George was a graduate of the U.S. Navy Experimental Test Pilot School. He was also a graduate of the University of Southern California's System Safety Engineering Program. George also successfully completed the DCAS basic Contracting Officer Course.

George earned numerous awards and decorations including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Soldier's Medal, nine Air Medals, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal and others. He was also an Army selectee for the Space Shuttle Program prior to the Challenger accident. George was a trained aircraft maintenance officer, served in the Republic of Korea, and provided direct supervisory over 147 officers and enlisted personnel and 30 aircraft. Halfway through his tour he was selected as the 52nd Aviation Battalion Supply and Maintenance Officer and had numerous personnel and 85 fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft under his control.

As an experimental test pilot, George was responsible for the successful completion of numerous flight test programs, including firing the first Hellfire missile from an AH-64 Apache helicopter by military crew during Engineering Development Test 5. After George retired from the Army as a Major in 1986, he continued to work for the Army as a civillian contractor conducting System Safety Engineering programs on developing aircraft, missile, and ground equipment. He also served as an aircraft accident investigator and Flight Data Recorder data analyst until his retirement in 2005.

Upon moving to Parker, George served the City of Parker on the Planning Commission beginning in 2004 and was elected Chairperson of the Planning Commission for the maximum number of terms allowed by Parker policies. He conducted extensive research and helped develop a re-write of the City's Land Development Regulations.

George was instrumental in providing support during the Land Use and Development discussions of Parker's Large Scale Plan Development changes to the Comprehensive Plan with the State of Florida's Department of Community Affairs in Tallahassee. He supported the City's efforts to obtain a CRA for the blighted areas of Parker.

George ran for and was elected to the City of Parker's City Council where he served from 2009 to 2013. He was a motivating force to get the City back on a balanced budget and city infrastructure renovation such as a major sewer, street, and storm water repair projects. He also served on the Bay County Transportation Planning Organization and was elected vice-chairman in 2011.

George held a commercial pilot's license with single and multiengineering fixed wing, single and tandem rotor heavy helicopter, glider and instrument rating. He single handed his 44 ft. ketch sailing as far as Mayaguana and back and enjoyed boating, SCUBA diving, flying, astronomy, ham radio and traveling in his RV.

George has requested that the Lord's Prayer and his favorite Psalm, the 23rd Psalm, be read at his wake. He has also requested that music played at the wake include "Softly and Tenderly" by Cynthia Clawson, "O Happy Day", "All is Well with My Soul", and other Gaither selections, as well as light classical music.

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