George Shore left his mark on San Benito and family
Hollister native and former San Benito County Supervisor George
Shore died Jan. 30 of cancer at home with his family by his side.
He was 92.
”
We were all here and had time to speak with him,
”
said son Carl Shore.
”
Prior to passing, he opened his eyes and when my mom spoke his
eyes focused on her.
”
George Shore left his mark on San Benito and family
Hollister native and former San Benito County Supervisor George Shore died Jan. 30 of cancer at home with his family by his side. He was 92.
“We were all here and had time to speak with him,” said son Carl Shore. “Prior to passing, he opened his eyes and when my mom spoke his eyes focused on her.”
Shore’s family originally settled in the Bolsa region of San Benito in the late 1860s, according to relatives. Shore Road, off Hwy 25 is named for Richard Shore, George’s grandfather.
After attending local elementary and high schools, Shore came of age during the Depression. He had hopes of graduating from college and enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley after earning money by leasing a local gas station. After completing the first year of his studies in geology, he returned to work at the gas station for a year. He completed one more year of school before he returned home to work full-time.
“He regretted not finishing his degree,” Carl said. “But it was the Depression … He couldn’t continue that.”
While Shore did not complete a degree, he made education a priority for his children.
“He was determined to get all three of us through college,” Carl said. “And he did.”
He returned to the home of his childhood and married Caryl, a girl he’d known in high school. The young couple had their first child, Suzanne, while Shore worked for Lathrop Hay and Grain in Hollister. He joined the Army in 1943 and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan during World War II.
After returning from the war, Shore went into the grain business for himself and started Tres Pinos Grain and Supply. He and Caryl had two more children, Carl and Frank.
“The legacy he left for me is his integrity in dealing with people,” Carl said. “His work ethic. That has carried over to all three of us.”
Shore still found time to spend with his family after long days or weeks in the office.
“He worked really hard and would come home tired,” Carl said. “But he was attentive. He took care of us and played baseball with us when he was tired.”
During the summers the family would vacation in the mountains and Shore would drive up on weekends to spend time with the family. He enjoyed hunting, clamming and fishing during his time off.
While working in the grain business, Shore became involved with local organizations.
“Because of his feed business, he supported the [Future Farmers of America], 4-H and the Saddlehorse Association,” Carl said. “He became part of it because they were all people he worked with.”
Though the family wasn’t directly involved in the farming industry, Carl said his father was empathetic to his clients.
“He was loyal to his customers. He took cows and all kinds of things as pay over the years,” Carl said. “He knew how hard farming was and he was forgiving and helped them out.”
Shore retired as owner of Tres Pinos Grain and Supply in 1969 for health reasons, but continued to dabble in other enterprises part time. He bought and sold grain, walnuts and protein molasses over the years.
He invested in a venture with Loren “Sonny” Paullus to turn a former turkey farm into the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club. Shore, Paullus and other investors started the Ridgemark Corporation in 1971 and the golf course opened the following year.
“In his later years, he liked to play golf, but he was always frustrated because he was never really good at it,” Carl said.
He entered local politics in the 1980s when he ran for the San Benito County Board of Supervisors and won. The local man had long been reluctant to enter politics, even though many people approached him to run for the board after Supervisor Ernie Ricotti died.
“Finally he said, ‘Well Hollister and San Benito have been good to me and maybe I should do it,'” said his wife, Caryl, with a laugh. “His wife was so surprised, she nearly died.”
Shore spent 11 years on the board and Caryl said he took the job very seriously.
“When you are on the board, you are one vote out of five and sometimes he was the one vote out of five,” Caryl said. “He worked hard to compromise with the other members.”
Before and after his stint on the board, Shore traveled extensively with his wife.
“I think it was something my mother wanted to do, but he wasn’t that interested in,” Carl said. “The first time they went, he loved it so much.”
The couple visited Europe, South America and many countries in Asia, including China, India, Nepal and Bhutan. Shore would bring dried apricots from orchards he owned in the area and give them out to natives.
Shore is survived by wife Caryl; daughter Suzanne Phy; sons Frank and Carl; and several grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be held Saturday, Feb. 11 at 11 a.m. in the chapel of Grunnagle-Ament-Nelson Funeral Home. Contributions are preferred to Hospice.
