by George Portz Death, Obituary – Unfortunately, our dear friend George Portz passed away the day before yesterday, and we wanted to take this opportunity to remember him today. We wanted to take this opportunity to remember him today. Today is a day on which we would like to take the opportunity to remember him. Even when Rob Kindle and I were performing as the Watershed String Band, George was always there to lend his support to our musical endeavors.
This was the case even though George was busy with other things. Every year, he extended an invitation to us to either attend his bluegrass show at SWIC in Belleville or his Festus festival. Both of these events took place in Festus. Festus was the location of both of these occurrences. The Bluegrass on the Hill festival takes place every year in Edwardsville, which hosts the event. He referred to our band as “The Silver Creek Bluegrass Boys,” and you were never able to catch him without a smile on his face. He was always laughing and having a good time.
He had a constant grin that stretched from ear to ear. Over the course of his life, in addition to being a fervent supporter of the local bluegrass scene, he was also a contest judge for a great number of fiddle competitions. He did this work throughout his entire career. Competitions on the fiddle are an essential component of the annals of old-time music, and he played the role of host for a significant number of these events throughout his career. The only people that come to mind who have been more encouraging to us as a band throughout this entire process are members of our immediate family.
We are unable to think of anyone else who has been more encouraging to us throughout this entire process. George, I hope that one day you will discover the peace you have been searching for. In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Talia Long Photography for continually capturing photographs of George’s events and festivals, which have become memories that are treasured. These photographs have helped preserve George’s history.
