Staff Writer As long as I can remember, GEORGE VENNER, Sr. has been associated with Forney. Before I knew who he was, I had heard his name upon different occasions as my Dad or other folks of Forney spoke of him and/or his accomplishments and some of his “hijinks.”
Now, George is about 105 or 110 years old, but he moves and acts and thinks more like he is closer to my (Don Themer) age–about 56 years, most of the time! He has been, and still is, one of the most valuable members of the Forney Historic Preservation League’s Board of Directors.
When we have our meetings or various functions, he is first in line to move tables, sweep floors, carry in the heavy items, and figure out just how to do things. And if no one will volunteer to “chair” a committee, George will! He has been one officer or another for as long as I have known this organization existed, and I know Mesquite folks call him, MAYOR, when they see him walking up to local functions. And, only one time have I ever seen him without a grin or smile upon his face, and that was when he smashed his finger under a box!
George was born here in Forney to George Fleming and Viola (Adams) Venner in February of 1929, in the local hospital, which was known as “The Sanitarium.” (In 1950, I lived in the converted “Sanitarium Apartments,” while Dad and Mom waited for R. D. Davis to finish building our house on Maple Street.)
Early growing up involved life on a farm in “Irish Ridge”–TALTY–until the age of 12 years, when the Family left (as George fondly speaks of it) the “path for a bath” and moved to the thriving city of Forney, Texas.
George’s middle name is from his Mother’s family name, and his Grandfather Fred was a Constable of Forney and Sheriff of Kaufman County when Bonnie Parker was first captured and served time in the Kaufman County Jail.
Young George worked in the “onion shed” during onion season and then for Goldstein Hat Manufacturing Company his sophomore year ($0.50/hr.). His junior and senior years found him working for Dallas Linen Service to earn enough to have “spending money” through the school years.
In 1945, Venner played on and “Captained” the undefeated Forney Jackrabbit Football Team and received a scholarship to Texas Military College (was Captain and MVP) after local graduation in 1946. This was followed by “going out” for Spring Training at SMU in 1948, but he let some guy by the name of Doak Walker beat him out for the desired spot. Disgruntled, George left SMU and went to work for the Ford Motors Plant on East Grand Avenue. He called the work a “gravy job,” and it paid well; however, it was not what he wanted to do for the remainder of his life.
Deciding that he needed two more years of college, our “Forneyite” resigned at Ford, went back to SMU, and also picked up a 3:00 p. m.–midnight job as an IBM operator for International Harvester.
Back to Forney for some sleep–classes from 8:00 until 11:00 a. m.–over to the library until about 2:30–then off to work–what a routine! He persevered and earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.
While at SMU, Western Electric Division of AT&T came calling and hired the still-young “Forney Boy” as their 1st Management Trainee in the Southwest and kept him on for three and one-half years of nice treatment and profitable promotions–deciding to transfer him to the Headquarters in New York City.
BUT, George Venner, madly in love, had married Patricia Paschall (Pat) by this time, and both of their families were in the Forney area at this time, so…..he resigned from this good job and went to work for Core Laboratories…..for 30 years, moving all the way up to Chief Financial Officer and President of their international sales and manufacturing.
And, he found time to do a good job of “raising” his son and daughter–George Venner, Jr. and Vali Ann Dicus.
Let’s go back a little. When George graduated from Texas Military College in 1948, he had joined the 49th Armored Division of the Texas National Guard and remained with this unit until resigning in 1960 as a Captain. At this time, I was a 10-yearsold student in Mrs. Lena Jones’s 4th Grade Class in Forney Grammar School and only knew of “Mr. Venner” from “over-hearing” my Dad, Paul Themer, mention him sometimes when I was around the “old men” in Forney when they talked on the street or after meetings.
Although he does not now live in Forney, Mr. Venner never has lost interest in seeing Forney do well. And he only lives a “hop, skip, and jump” away in Mesquite, where he has also been extremely active in community activities, Presbyterian Church, politics (Mayor), the arts, real estate, education, and citywide development.
For many years, he served as a Board Member and President of the Forney Ex-Students Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the Forney Cemetery Association, Inc. (Hillcrest Cemetery), and a Patron of the Forney Education Leadership Foundation. He was also elected to the Forney High School Hall of Honor. **An interesting note: He once bought the H. W. Campbell Forney Ford Dealership in the late ‘60s and kept it until the early ‘70s.** I truly expect GEORGE– years and years from now– to still be walking through the front door of the Museum with twinkles in his eyes, calendars to help us keep up with dates, and little flashlights so that we can find our vehicles after the meetings are over. And I expect him to still be reading the FHPL Column of the FORNEY MESSENGER and to maybe have moved back to Forney!
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