Obituary for George Willard Champ Mr. George Willard Champ, 100, of Seymour, passed away on Saturday, October 27, 2018 at Schneck Medical Center. He was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on March 17, 1918 to the late Clarence Arthur and Rose Lee (Smith) Champ. His childhood was spent near Brookings, South Dakota where, even at an early age, he worked alongside his parents at their family business, C.A. Champ & Sons General Merchandise.
During the Great Depression, the family relocated to Indiana. On May 7, 1939, in Macy, Indiana, he married Wilma Maxine (Archbold) Champ; she preceded him in death on November 11, 2007. He was a US Army veteran serving as a Private during WWII.
Champ had a long and illustrious career as an engineer. Prior to being drafted and during the early years of WWII, he was instrumental in the design of many items that contributed to the war effort to support the American troops, most notably the design of gaskets for gas masks and a Naval torpedo while working for General Tire in Fort Wayne, IN. He then continued his engineering career with H.O. Canfield Co., and in the summer of 1956, Champ was selected to be part of a three-person engineering team to start a new factory location in Seymour, IN, whereby he relocated his family and laid down permanent roots in the community.
H.O. Canfield was later acquisitioned by Panasote Inc., where Champ worked for 34yrs in total and eventually retired as head of the Engineering Department. He was an active member of First Baptist Church (serving as their Treasurer for many years), Agoga Sunday School Class and Seymour Evening Lions Club. He is survived by his son, Terry W. Champ; grandchildren, Kimberly (Bryan) Champ Devlin, Marc (Sheryl) Champ, Christi Jo (Gregory) Champ Baine, Troy (Tracey) Champ, Todd Champ, and Angie (Jeremy) Champ Fletcher; 6 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild.
He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife of 68 years; son, Stephen W. Champ; grandson, Shannon Wayne Champ; brother, Oliver Champ; sister, Mary Alice Parker; and daughters-in-law, Nancy Champ and Norma Jean Champ. A memorial funeral service will be at Voss & Sons Funeral Service on Thursday, November 1 at 10 am. Entombment will follow at Riverview Cemetery.
Family and friends may call at Voss & Sons Funeral Service on Wednesday from 4-8 pm and Thursday from 9 am until time of service. Memorials may be written to First Baptist Church, in care of Voss & Sons Funeral Service. Online condolences may be given on the funeral home website at www.
vossfuneralservice.com. To send a memorial gift to the family of George Willard Champ please visit our Sympathy Store. Upcoming Events Visitation , OCT 31.
4:00 PM – 8:00 PM Voss Chapel 316 North Chestnut Street Seymour, IN, US, 47274 Visitation , NOV 1. 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Voss Chapel 316 North Chestnut Street Seymour, IN, US, 47274 Funeral , NOV 1.
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