George Paul Havas
June 6, 1932 - October 7, 2014
Resident of Lafayette

George Havas, age 82, passed away at home with his wife by his side after a ten-year battle with cancer. He was born and raised in Oakland and was the son of George and Judith Havas who came to Oakland from Budapest, Hungary. He attended Oakland High where he played football and was the Student Body President in 1950. He then went to Stanford University and graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering and continued for a Master's Degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

After his service in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Goose Bay, Labrador, George joined Kaiser Engineers and worked on a number of construction projects including a major dam in West Africa. After Kaiser, he then worked for BART for fifteen years as a project manager for the building of several parking structures. George loved music and attended the San Francisco Symphony for years, and also sang in the choir at church. He was an enthusiastic skier who was on the ski patrol at Sugar Bowl for many seasons. He also enjoyed racing his sailboat on the San Francisco Bay and had many trophies and happy memories from those times. His love of being on the water led him to restore and refinish two old wooden Chris Craft boats which he enjoyed up at Clear Lake.

He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Helen Libby Havas, and four children from their blended families: Dr. Randall Havas (Melissa) of Portland, Oregon; Laurie Havas of Pleasant Hill and children Rebecca Williams (David) and Thomas Schwemberger; Jennifer Griessel (Paul) and sons Paul Jr and Jacob of Lafayette; and Jonathan Libby (Kathy) and son Jack of Littleton, Colorado. He is also survived by two sisters, Judith Havas and Eva Slinker both of Salem, Oregon.

Helen would like to thank the Kaiser Hospice, the visiting nurses and a very special caregiver that assisted George during his last two months at home. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be sent to the Lafayette Orinda Presbyterian Church at 49 Knox Drive, Lafayette CA 94549 for the loving care and concern shown to George over the years. Family and friends are invited to a memorial service to be held at the same church on Friday, November 21, 2014 at 11:00 am with a reception to follow.