George Simon Njaim

George Simon Njaim, 96, peacefully died of natural causes Sunday, September 3, 2023 surrounded by his family who ushered him to heaven with prayers and hymns. George was born in Delta, OH, Sept. 21, 1926, to Simon and Adela (Cristo) Njaim, first-generation immigrants from Lebanon. He served in WWII and was a championship boxer known as the Brown Bomber. He proudly served his country. He married June Baldwin July 4, 1949. They celebrated 58 years of marriage before her death in 2007. Together they raised six children. He worked in his father’s grocery store, the former Deluxe Grocery in West Toledo, from the time he was a child through adulthood. At age 16, George took a job with Willy’s Overland. He was drafted at age 18. After the service, he returned to work in his dad’s grocery store, and at the former Selectronics, on Benore Road, doing specialized service for the government. He also returned to Jeep serving as a line worker, a foreman, an electrician, and an engineer. He retired after almost 40 years in 1988. George was a phenomenal storyteller who delighted his children with tales of ice skating on Walden’s Pond, playing sports with his friends, and pranking his neighbors. He loved roller skating and was a dance skater. After WWII he picked up ballroom dancing which he treasured doing with his wife and their friends. He also was spectacular with the Yo-Yo and was paid to demonstrate in store windows. He could fix almost anything, loved singing and playing the piano, and started painting later in life. Many of his paintings hang in his children’s homes. He enjoyed traveling with his family and friends and traveled extensively. He had a great love for boating on Lake Erie and spent about 35 years on the lake. He and his wife loved sleeping on the boat and taking numerous boat trips with friends staying in Leamington, Ontario, Canada, Put-In-Bay, and Kelley’s Island, to name a few. He was an avid fisherman and loved huge fish fries with his family. George loved the water including boating, swimming in his pool, and especially playing in the Gulf of Mexico off Fort Myers Beach, FL., where he and his wife were snowbirds for more than 20 years. They formed fantastic friendships on the beach riding bikes, watching glorious sunsets, playing cards and bocce ball. He is preceded in death by his wife June (Baldwin); his parents Simon and Adela (Cristo); his brother, Maron; his grandson, Dennis and son-in-law, Daniel Gilbert. He is survived by his children Greg, Doug and Joni (Spirko), Chris and Mike Parrish, Melissa and Steve Callejas, Dave and Alicia (Kwiatkowski), Julie and Bill Buehler, 19 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, and 7 great-great grandchildren. Friends are invited to visit after 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Christ the King Catholic Church, 4100 Harvest Lane, where the Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m.. Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery, 5725 Hill Ave. In lieu of flowers, memorial tributes may be made to Paralyzed Veterans of America, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, or Christ the King Catholic Church.

George Simon Njaim

September 21, 1926 - September 3, 2023