Listing on North Seattle College
Do you have memories of George Neiswanger? Please email to info@storycrossroads.org.
Part of Seattle Storytellers Guild – 102 year old teller passes away. At the age of 101, he drove himself to our annual meeting and told a story!
Remembering George Neiswanger (1922-2025)
George Neiswanger was born Nov 9, 1922 in Walla Walla Washington. He passed away on January 15, 2025 after complications from a fall. He graduated in 1945 from Whitman College in Walla Walla, with honors. He had a career as a Certified Public Accountant, then worked as an instructor at North Seattle College. He served many years on the North Seattle College Education Fund board, where he created the George Neiswanger Endowed Scholarship for NSC students in business or accounting programs. George Neiswanger loved history and storytelling. He was already using storytelling in his teaching when he met UW professor and internationally known storyteller Spencer Shaw, a mentor to so many of us, at his wife’s church. Dr. Shaw recommended George join the Seattle Storytellers Guild. He did that, and then attended the big National Storytelling Conference held here in Seattle in 1993. There was no looking back! When the monthly programs were held at All for Kids Books and Music near University Village, George was at every program and always had a story for the story swap. He also served on the SSG Board for five years, and was especially encouraging to new tellers. George represented Mt Tahoma Storytelling Guild as an opening teller in the 2018 Forest Storytelling Festival and he was so delighted that the telling of his story brought him a standing ovation from the audience. Approaching the age of 100, he joined the Elder Tales group who have been providing stories in Senior Residences. In 2019, we honored him as a Golden Circle Member for his dedicated outstanding me and effort on behalf of the Guild over the years. Recordings of his stories are in the 2021, 2022 and 2024 Golden Circle Swaps.
Memory:
“I’ve known George since my first guild meeting 30 years ago. He told a story that night, and when I heard his wonderful voice I thought, “I could never be a storyteller.” “I remember riding to the Port Angeles Festival with him and listening to “For All the Saints,” which we both loved. I remember a rainy night when John Clawson, George, and I went to Tacoma to tell stories for the Fireside Storytellers League. I remember the time George arranged for the Guild Board to have a planning retreat in the clubhouse of his condominium and afterward how we looked at Irene’s exquisitely decorated eggshells. “And I will always remember seeing him at the Annual Meeting this past October. He told a story about his moth er, and his voice was just as deep and resonant as it was thirty years ago, He told me he regretted that he wouldn’t be able to come back in November to hear me tell stories because it was his birthday and he already had several engagements. But somehow, he did manage to come. We got into a discussion of our hearing difficulties, and I said that I have trouble with consonants, especially s, t, d, and f. And he said, “Well, those are sibilants, plosives, and fricatives. I wonder what would cause that?” I was completely amazed. He was still way ahead of me. “All those years ago, I would never have imagined that this man I was in awe of, would be a treasured friend.”
Submitted by Lenore Jackson