George I. Venieris, 79, of Fernandina Beach, Fla., passed away Friday, July 6, 2019 at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.
He was born May 5, 1940 to Ion and Florentia Venieris in Athens, Greece, as their only child. He completed primary school in Belgium and studied engineering in England. He served as an officer in the Greek Navy before he moved to Germany.
George’s working career was in the automotive industry, beginning at Ford Europe in Cologne, Germany, and continued in the automotive aftermarket. In 1976, he moved from Germany to the United States to establish the Recaro Automotive Seats offices in California.
He loved the ocean and owned sailing, fishing, and speed boots over the years. He was a talented craftsman who designed a record-making Triton (Trimaran) speedboat that went into manufacturing.
On April 1, 1985, George became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He lived in Manhattan Beach, Calif., Long Beach, Calif., and Tampa, Fla., and finally made Amelia Island his home.
George spoke Greek, German, English, and French fluently and understood Italian and Spanish.
Retirement life on Amelia Island allowed him to build a house on Tarpon Avenue and afforded him more opportunity to enjoy his favorite past times – cars, boats, fishing, and fine dining. He was a member of the Billfish Foundation.
George is survived by his sons, Ion M. Venieris of San Jose, Calif. and G. Patrick Venieris of Scottsdale, Ariz.
A special thank you to his neighbors, Steve and Lori Parker, Doug and Peggy Roselle, and Wayne and Reba Goodin, all of whom became his friends.