George M. Washington

A bona fide descendant of his presidential namesake, George Murray Washington enrolled in San Diego State College in 1936 to follow those interests in forensics, oratory, and Spanish he had cultivated during his high school years at Grossmont High School. In fact, during his senior year of high school, he'd won the San Diego Toastmasters Club’s annual oratorical contest, taking first place in San Diego and fourth place in Pasadena, California.

Two months after earning his bachelor’s degree in June of 1940, Washington enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as a communications officer until the end of World War II. He was released from service on January 26, 1945 but would remain in the Navy Reserves until retiring in 1974 as Commander George M. Washington. By fall of that same year, however, he would be back at Grossmont High School, this time not as a student but as its newest Spanish teacher. He remained on staff at Grossmont High until 1951, then accepted a charter faculty position at Helix High School’s Foreign Language Department, where he would teach for the next ten years and serve as Head of the Languages Department during his last year there. Then, in 1961, George M. Washington was invited to teach Spanish and English—again, as a charter faculty member—for the new Grossmont Junior College.

In 1965, when the College began expanding its programs and hired more faculty, Washington was happily tenured to the Foreign Languages Department, where he taught Spanish for the rest of tenure—respected and remembered fondly for his gentle disposition, his soft-spoken voice, and his reputation as the one who “got away with it.” While most instructors earned their college teaching qualifications by obtaining post-graduate degrees, George’s lengthy experience as a San Diego high school Spanish teacher allowed him to be graced into the needed credentials. Colleagues also expressed a degree of envy at his year-long Tijuana sabbatical, when George lived in a trailer with his family and spent his time shmoozing with the locals to study their idioms: no written follow-up report on his sabbatical was ever submitted, nor was one ever demanded. Finally, at the end of the spring semester in 1976, at age 62, George M. Washington became the very first Grossmont College instructor to officially "sneak off" to retirement after just fifteen years with the District.

In retirement, George continued to participate for many years in GC's retiree activities, as well as continue his role as educator—closer to home. After the passing of his wife, Gerri, in 1995, grandson John Washington moved in with him in 1998 while working toward his undergraduate degree at San Diego State University. John remembers his grandfather as a wonderful piano player with an amazing echoic memory for music: he could play any melody on piano after just one listening. "Grandpa would often correct my speech, quiz me on spelling, and would read the newspaper for several hours each day."

In December of 2002, George M. Washington passed away in El Cajon and was buried in Fort Rosecrans with his late wife.

• My warmest regards and gratitude go out to George M. Washington's grandson, John Washington, who was kind enough to reach out and contribute his fond memories of living with his grandfather, which are included on this page with his consent.
• Additional thanks go out to Connie and Lynn Baer, Directors of the Grossmont High School Museum, who made possible the inclusion of George M. Washington's dashing GHS faculty portrait on this page. Thank you, both!

• Del Sudoeste Yearbook. San Diego, CA: San Diego State College, 1939-40.
• Reynolds, Ray. "Update: First Retiree [George M. Washington]." Obituary. GCCCD Grapevine vol. 5, no. 3 (November 1995): p3.

• Tartan Yearbook, Class of 1961. La Mesa, CA: Helix High, 1953-1961.
• "Washington, Gary." Obituary. Sioux City Journal (Sioux City, IA) 10 January 2015. Online.
• "Washington, George M." Faculty. El Recuerdo Yearbook, Class of 1946. El Cajon, CA: Grossmont High School, 1946. p88.
• _____. The Gallery, 1974: A Photographic Directory of the Grossmont College Staff. El Cajon, CA: Grossmont Junior College District, 1974. p109.
• _____. The Gallery: A 25th Anniversary Photographic Directory of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community Faculty, Administration, and Staff. El Cajon, CA: Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, 1987. p106.
• _____. Language Dept. Head. Tartan Yearbook, Class of 1961. La Mesa, CA: Helix High, 1961. p169.
• _____. Senior. El Recuerdo Yearbook, Class of 1933. El Cajon, CA: Grossmont High School, 1933. p11.
• "Washington, George." Migma 62: A Yearbook and Photographic Directory of the Grossmont College Staff. La Mesa, CA: Grossmont Junior College / Monte Vista High School, 1962. np.
• _____. Migma 63-64: A Yearbook and Photographic Directory of the Grossmont College Staff. La Mesa, CA: Grossmont Junior College / Monte Vista High School, 1964. p12.
• "Where Have All the Years Gone?" GCCCD Grapevine vol. 7, no. 1 (April 1997): p1. Photo by Don Dixon.

• James K. Bell 1961-1963
• Chester H. Palmer 1961-1965
• Martin Gerrish 1961-1964* (*tenured to Theater Dept. 1964-1996)
• George M. Washington 1961-1965* (*tenured to Foreign Languages Dept. 1965-1976)
• Ray Reynolds 1961-1968* (*tenured to Journalism Dept. 1968-1983)
• Charline Lamons 1961-1983 (Chair 1963-1966; 1968-1969) 
• Robert W. Danielson 1961-1986 (Chair 1961-1963; 1967-1969)