George Vail Minton

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George Vail Minton, 85, passed away peacefully on July 22, 2022 after a long but brave fight with various debilitating ailments. He is survived by his wife of 59 years Joanne (Niebling), sons Casey (Bernadette) and Michael (Valerie) and daughter Becky Howie (David), as well as 6 grandchildren.

George was born on November 1, 1936 to George Pullman Minton and Mary Louise Vail in Westfield, NY. After graduating Westfield High School, he attended Cornell University where he fully embraced his collegiate experience, especially the friendships forged at Alpha Tau Omega, where he served as President for a time. It was here that he earned one of his more memorable nicknames of “jingles.”

After graduating college, George took a job in the insurance field with the Cluthe Agency in New Jersey, where through a close friend he met the love of his life in Joanne Niebling. They settled in Summit, New Jersey, where they raised their 3 children. George worked close to 4 decades for John Hancock and was admired and respected by his colleagues for his quick wit and dedication to his team. Though given many opportunities to further his career through relocations, George remained committed to raising his family in Summit, a testament to his selfless devotion to others.

While George enjoyed his work, nothing gave him more satisfaction than time spent with family and friends. He and Joanne enjoyed decades playing duplicate bridge once a month with the exact same group of friends. Summering at his in-laws’ place on Shelter Island was another source of great joy, where he would captain the boat for water-skiing, fishing and clamming excursions. Few things rivaled George’s love of a great little neck clam, oyster, or steamed lobster. He gladly took the helm at the grill and was just as renowned for his prowess at the morning meal where he’d whip up flapjacks and the fixin’s.

George’s other passions included his cars (he “named” every one of them and could recite every single make/model/year of car he ever owned), the New York Times crossword puzzle (typically done in ink!), attending/coaching his kids’ sports teams/competitions (tennis and baseball most notably), and pampering the various rescue dogs that found their way into his heart and his home. He loved his nieces Heather and Hilary and nephew Tadd and treated them and their families like his own.

Upon retirement, George and Joanne moved to Florida where they resided in the Ponte Vedra Beach area for over 20 years. Members of Sawgrass Country Club for many years, they enjoyed time spent on the beach with family during many vacations with kids and grandkids in tow.

No formal service is planned, per George’s wishes. In the event you wish to honor his memory, kindly consider a donation to the Jacksonville Area Humane Society in his name.