George Capelle 

One of the more familiar faces at meetings of Council 10243, although usually a quiet one, is George.  He has been one of the more faithful attendees of meetings of the Council and has also gotten involved in many of the activities of the Council.  George came into the Knights of Columbus knowing almost nothing about the organization.  He admits he came in because Jim Barnett had been after him for quite some time to consider joining and he “just caved in.”  It was about three years ago that George, recently retired, finally made the move to become a part of the Council and he has since advanced through Third Degree.  Though he feels he is not the type of person who likes to stand up in front of a group, he has been involved in some of the more common activities of the Council such as Free Throw Competitions and Tootsie Roll drives.  He also seems to have a special love for working on the Booyah sales, and especially appreciates working together with a group of people who are enjoyable to be with and appreciative of his presence.

 

George worked at James River for almost thirty eight years before retiring around the same time that he became involved in the Knights.  In his time at James River he held several positions ranging from “wrap room” to grinding logs.  At the time of his retirement he was a lift truck operator. 

 

Though retired, he is far from inactive and likes to keep himself busy, although a fused ankle which acts up regularly does tend to put a bit of a crimp in his plans.  He used to enjoy walking in malls but because of the ankle has not been able to do much of that.  He also visits hospitals occasionally on behalf of St. Bernard Parish and enjoys making the connection between the parish and those who are in the hospital.  He also is a member of a retired men’s club which meets weekly at the downtown library, and he will occasionally be found at home mastering a deck of cards in a game of solitaire.  He is also trying to start a coin collection for his grandchildren.

 

Beyond all that, his real love is fishing.  Though he doesn’t get out as much as he would like, he manages to get in two or three trips to Canada each year--at least once “with the guys” and once with a daughter and son.  He also proudly relates a story of taking a 79 year old aunt up to Canada on a partridge hunting expedition.  Although George hadn’t hunted in about thirty years, they bagged the limit of thirty birds.

 

George and his wife, Audrey, have been married for forty two years now.  They have three children--one resides in Pleasant Prairie, WI and the other two locally.  He has occasionally tried to recruit members for the Council, but he has not (yet) been as successful as Jim Barnett was with him.  Still, his presence at most meetings of the Council and his involvement in numerous activities attest to his commitment to the Council and to the Knights of Columbus.

 

March 1997