George Joseph McGoff: Industrial Designer, Artist, Teacher, and Sculptor
April 28, 1927- October 27, 2011
George was born in Kingston Massachusetts on April28, 1927. He graduated from Kingston High School in 1945 and immediately enlisted in the Navy. He attended the U.S. Naval Training Center in Sampson. N.Y. Upon his completion of this training, he was assigned to the U.S.S. Lyman K. Swenson (DD729), serving as a Yeoman Striker- (typed log records, filed records and reports and handled correspondence) in the Asiatic/Pacific Area Campaign, specifically, China. He was discharged July of 1946 and returned home where he attended the Massachusetts College of Art receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in General Design in 1951. He started his career working for the Albert & J. M. Anderson Manufacturing Company in Boston doing drafting and technical illustration. In 1953, George began his career designing clocks, watches and packaging as an industrial designer for Westclox, the Elgin National Watch Co and its subsidiary, American Microphone Co. In 1956, he was employed as the senior designer for the Telechron Clock Division of the General Electric Co. His specific assignment - to design new clocks and timers, re-design clocks in the line, and design component parts. George was responsible for the formulation of new color schemes. In 1957 he moved to New York and worked for the Richard Arbib Co, N. Y.C. as a design consultant, participated in designing a variety of products from men's jewelry including Hamilton watches, Century Speedboats, Eurika vacuum cleaners and Singer Sewing machines. From February 1958, he was self employed as a free-lance designer in both two dimensional and three dimensional areas. At this time he designed the offices and waiting room of the Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway Company, he was responsible for large exhibit design for the Massachusetts Bay Community College of Boston. and designed displays for the Nurembergers Display Firm in Boston. In the 1960s, George transitioned to teaching art to high school students, returning to college to get his teaching degree. He received a Master of Fine Arts from Boston University's College of Fine and Applied Arts. It was here that he met and married his soul mate, Robin. He retired from the Wellesley Public Schools in 1988. At this time he traveled extensively, developing 2D works on paper through the camera lens, exhibiting his photographs locally. In 2002, he began to design and create large environmental sculptures in Western Cedar and Mahogany. His sculptures were exhibited at the Duxbury Art Complex Museum in Duxbury. In 2009, his large black sculpture, "Daedalus" was accepted into the permanent collection of the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA. where it was installed at the entrance to the Museum. Several of his large environmental sculptures are located on the grounds of their home in Marshfield. George died at his home in Marshfield Hills on October 27, 2011 after a long illness. Born in Kingston Massachusetts to Mary and John McGoff, he is survived by his beloved wife Robin, his sister, Rose Po, nephew Michael Po, of North Andover MA, his wife Susan and their three sons, Nathan, Cameron, and Daniel. His sister-in-laws, Jackie Conrad of Johnston Rl, Betty Jacques, and her husband Bob of Leicester, MA, their two daughters Beth Jacques of Marlboro MA, and Michelle Pickett, her husband Kevin and their son Ryan of Rochdale, MA, as well as two grand nephews, Matt and Jesse Jacques.
A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Christine's, 1295 Main Street (Route 3A), Marshfield MA on November 18, 2011 at 10:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the "Campus of Caring, Inc." (a non-profit Hospice Home) P.O. Box 323 Norwell, MA 02061.