George E. Uding Jr.

George Edward Uding Jr. of Naples, Florida, died on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. He was 88 years old.
He was born in Ste. Genevieve on March 21, 1932, a son of George and Gertrude (Lurk) Uding.
He was married to Margaret “Marge” Irose, and she preceded him in death in 1988.
He was later married to Rose Newman, and she preceded him in death in 2005.
He is survived by one sister, Kathleen Chaput and her husband Garry of St. Louis; five daughters, Cheryl Minnier and her husband Scott of Rome, Pennsylvania; Ellen Coe and her husband Robert of Baltimore, Maryland; Laura Beaupre and her husband Thomas of Macungie, Pennsylvania; Mary Jennifer Wiley and her husband Matthew of Oreland, Pennsylvania, Kristie Guttin and her husband Patrick of Sandpoint, Idaho; 15 grandchildren, Tyler, Eli, Jesse, Amy, Olivia, Ian, Chip, Alexandra, Benjamin, Reina, Kaitlyn, Alexander, Zachary, Nathan, Ashley; and six great-grandchildren.
In addition to his parents and two wives, he was preceded in death by his brother, Glennon Uding.
He died surrounded by his daughters. He would tell you he spent much of his adult life surrounded by his daughters, a group of women whose lives he inspired, enriched and often complicated. And in whose lives he has left a very large void.
At the start of World War II, his family moved to Sherwood, Tennessee, where they lived in a log cabin for the next four years overlooking the village. This period of his life inspired a love for the mountains, the outdoors and many of his treasured “Sherwood Stories.”
The family then returned to Ste. Genevieve, where he graduated from Valle High School.
He joined the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, and he served on an aircraft carrier. This sparked his lifelong interest in aviation and eventual acquisition of his pilot’s license and his much-loved prop planes.
After serving his country, he again returned to Missouri, where he completed a degree in mechanical engineering at the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy in Rolla. He later endowed a scholarship in his wife Marge’s name.
He then launched a successful and storied career in manufacturing that spanned several decades and continents, earning him a write-up in Forbes magazine and mentions in the Wall Street Journal.
He and his first wife became the proud parents of five daughters, whom he called his proudest accomplishment.
He began his career with Procter and Gamble and moved on to the Continental Can Corporation. He followed by assuming a plant manager position and vice presidency of the Masonite Corporation. He then moved to the Portland Cement Industry, first as CEO, president of Essroc Corporation with the Societe des Cement Français, then as the president of the Medusa Corporation and finally as a director of the Southdown Corporation.
He retired to Naples, Florida, where he purchased and lovingly restored Palm Villa, formerly the DuPont Cottage, a beautiful and historic home in the heart of Old Naples which was featured in books and on television as a quintessential part of Naples’ architectural history.
He was so many things, an astute and intuitive businessman, a born leader, a lifelong devout Catholic and the quintessential gentleman. He was a pilot, a golfer, a painter, a sailor and a beautiful dancer who always loved dancing with his daughters even though, as he put it, “not a one of them will let me lead.” They would tell him it was the “U Gene” they inherited from him that made them leaders instead of followers.
The family will hold a small private ceremony soon and many ongoing celebrations of his life when the current chaos fades and safety permits. Bartholomew-Schisler Funeral Home of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, is handling the arrangements.
Memorials be made to the hospice or the charity of one’s choice.