George Albert Lillie, 91, of Vero Beach, passed away on Oct. 12, 2015.
He was predeceased by his lovely wife, Illyne Lillie, and he leaves behind many beloved relatives, and close friends he made along the way. Lillie had several special care givers over the years for whom he was extremely grateful of their loving care.
He was an avid outdoors man and enjoyed hunting, sailing and a good game of golf. He was an active member of his community and especially enjoyed acting as the Commodore of the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club.
Born and raised in Tom’s River, N.J., Lillie was pursuing a degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Duke University when he was inducted into the Navy in 1943. He served on convoy duty in the Atlantic, was in the Normandy invasion and active in fleet operations in the South Pacific. At the end of World War II, he returned to Duke and graduated in 1950 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Lillie joined Johnson Service Company as a sales engineer in the Philadelphia branch. After five years of experience in high-rise buildings he was transferred to New York and placed in charge of design and installation of the control systems to be part of the modernization of the mechanical systems at Rockefeller Center buildings.
Near the completion of Rockefeller Center’s modernization, he was transferred to Chicago where he served as Midwest Regional Manager and in 1969 was sent back to New York as Eastern Reginal Manager.
After 20 years with Johnson Control, he became Chief Engineer and then Vice President of Operations for Rockefeller Center. At that point, the Center had grown to 19 buildings totaling almost 20 million square feet.
In 1983, Rockefeller Center reorganized as the Rockefeller Center Group, Inc. The Operations Group was now a subsidiary known as the Rockefeller Center Management Co., and George Lillie was named President. He served in that capacity until retiring in 1987.
After retiring, he and Lynn moved to Hilton Head, S.C. until making their home in Vero Beach in 2000.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P O Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675. A memorial service will be held at Oak Harbor’s Somerset House in Vero Beach on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. An online guestbook is available at www.lowtherfuneralhome.com.
