A milkman, newspaperman and WWII vet

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George Plumb and his wife of over 60 years, Ann Therese. George died June 7. | Supplied photo

Updated: January 23, 2012 2:36AM

George Plumb wore a lot of hats in his 90 years.

The resident of Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community, who was a father, milkman, newspaperman and World War II veteran, died Tuesday morning after years of battling leukemia, prostate cancer and kidney disease.

Born on Chicago’s South Side on Aug. 11, 1920, Mr. Plump attended Bowen High School before fighting in the Army in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He reached the rank of master sergeant and fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal and in other campaigns in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea.

After returning to Chicago, Plumb went to work at Bowman Dairy Co. as a milkman and route driver. It was through delivering milk that he met his future wife of 62 years, Ann. She was working at the Belt Railway of Chicago, which was on his milk route. The couple had three sons and a daughter whom they raised on the far South Side of Chicago.

Mr. Plumb worked in the dairy industry for 40 years, for Borden after it bought Bowmen, and later for Pine Crest Dairy. He retired at 65, but found he couldn’t sit still long. In 1987, he was hired at the Daily Southtown in the single-copy circulation department. He worked there for more than 10 years, delivering stacks of paper to fill newsstands across the South Side.

“Uncle George was a great guy,” said Jack Denny, Mr. Plumb’s nephew by marriage and former supervisor at the Daily Southtown. “I went out of my way to make sure I saw him as often as possible. I mean he was the most positive, forward-thinking, healthy, energetic fellow.”

Denny recalls how Mr. Plumb would push around heavy newspaper vending machines well past retirement age.

“Here’s a guy that was doing that into his late 70s,” he said. “He was phenomenal. He just had a positive attitude.”

Mr. Plumb’s daughter, Mary Ann Bradarich, who still lives in Mount Greenwood, said his positive outlook made him well-liked by everyone who knew him.

“He was the nicest guy in the world, and there wasn’t a soul who didn’t like him,” she said. “He went to a wedding and danced with every woman there.”

Funeral arrangements were handled by Andrew J. McGann and Son Funeral Home in Chicago. The funeral Mass was Friday at St. Christina Church, also in Chicago.