George William Piersol entered the gates of heaven on April 17th, 2020. George was born in November 25th 1938 in Harvey Kansas to parents Devillo and Wilma Piersol, and soon thereafter moved to Wichita Kansas where he grew up.
George’s early years in Wichita were filled with summer jobs at Boeing, wrestling, basketball, and fast cars. After moving to Mesa, Arizona in the 70’s George quickly became the go to person in the Mobile Home and RV industry. George was appointed to several State Boards governing the fast growing industry. It was during this time that George helped develop many procedures and policies that those in the industry still follow today.
It was in Mesa that he met his life partner of 45+ years, Joan A. Thayer who was also involved in the industry. Their relationship was strong and unbreakable, and together they dominated the industry. George became know as “Poppie” to Joan’s children who ranged in age from 7 to 24 at the time they met. If you were to ask any of those now adult children to describe George the reply would no doubt be “ that’s impossible because he was just bigger than life.” He was a force of nature, strong, compassionate, smart, willing, sensitive, and someone to look up to. He was full of stories or accounts of his experiences, or how to fix something, or how to create and build something to our amazement. Stories we had never heard were woven into the daily conversation right up until his last week here on earth.
George’s construction and architectural knowledge had no limits. He could get plans passed through the zoning departments like no one else. Whether it was taking an abandoned Hunt Club in Mormon Lake on 40 acres and turning it into a fabulous family retreat, or renovating the historic Shadows at Kings Ranch where he and Joan set up their first location for an Elderhostel, George was always up to the challenge. Taking a hotel in Pinetop and turning it into a thriving business or bringing life back to the historic Stage Stop Inn in Patagonia, George had the skills and patience to turn something broken into a thing of beauty, something to be proud of.
George along with Joan had a vision when they found a piece of property at the far end of town on a dirt road and not in the city limits. It had unobstructed view of the Superstition Mountains that they loved so much. A perfect Mountain View or “Monte Vista.” They put their heads together and soon after Monte Vista RV Resort was born.
George was a collector of boats, a gentleman, a scholar, a great friend, a leader, and a lover of life with a huge heart. There is definitely a hole in the world tonight.
Rest easy Poppie.
Service to be held at a later date.
Thank you for all that you taught me over the years. It was my honor to be your friend and caregiver. What a special bond we had.
I take comfort in knowing you no longer suffer or have pain as you fly with the angels.
Love you Poppie