George Alexander Terzian, age 91, of Park Ridge, Illinois, passed away March 3, 2024. Dearest father to Elle Margaret (Richard) Scholwin and Shelley Marie Terzian. Loving brother to Beverly Miller and uncle, great-uncle and great-great-uncle to many nephews and nieces. George was predeceased by his loving wife, Marjorie, and his parents Alexander and Margaret Terzian, brother Charles Terzian, and sisters Rose Hovsepian, Mary Kirishian, and Caroline Winter.

George was an inspirational person who touched many lives. He was proud to have grown up in the West Pullman neighborhood of Chicago and to have graduated from Fenger Academy High School. Upon graduating high school, George enlisted in the United States Navy where he served four years during the Korean conflict and traveled to many places–his favorites being Japan where he learned to converse in the language, Guam where he played football and made many lifelong friends, and San Diego and San Francisco where he spent shoreleaves with his California cousins.

After the navy, George attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on a football scholarship and the GI bill. He received a degree in PE and continued studies at UIUC to earn a Masters Degree in PE and kinesiology. He also received a Masters Degree in Counseling from DePaul University.

George taught physical education, driver education, and health, and coached a variety of sports including football, wrestling, and track and field. George spent the majority of his career working at Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois, from 1966-1994, where he was a pioneer in the development of curriculum for SPED-PE, creating the Senior Leader program and adapting exercise, games, and sports for individual development and inclusive play for both educational and competitive levels. George had many colleagues in high school, collegiate, and professional sports and his high athletic standards helped many individuals and teams reach the championship level. He also worked at the Skokie Health Department, Bement High School, Wilber Wright College in Chicago, and Maine South High School, as well as numerous summer camps. In 2005, Coach Terzian was inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, an honor for which he was deeply grateful.

In addition to the numerous sports in which he participated, George held a variety of hobbies and interests including telling stories and jokes, woodworking, baking baklava from scratch, amusement parks, vegetable, flower and landscape gardening, classic films, comedy, chess, poetry, piano, singing, the theater, and traveling to visit friends.

A Visitation and Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2024, from 9:00 am until the time of service at 11:00 am at the Armenian Evangelical Church, 905 W. Golf Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, donations to Operation Smile, https://www.operationsmile.org/ , or the Armenian Evangelical Church, 905 W. Golf Rd., Mount Prospect, IL 60056, in the name of George A. Terzian would be appreciated. Funeral care provided by G.L. Hills Funeral Home and Cremation Center. For information, please call 847-699-9003 or visit www.glhillsfuneralhome.com .