Funeral Services Nov. 8 for Don George, Southern Miss Professor of Emeritus

Funeral services are 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8 at Main Street United Methodist Church in Hattiesburg for Dr. Don George, University of Southern Mississippi Professor Emeritus of Speech Communication, who died at Regency Hospital in Hattiesburg Nov. 3. He was 98.

Interment will be at Highland Cemetery in Hattiesburg. Visitation is 6-8 p.m. tonight at Moore Funeral Home in Hattiesburg.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, George taught at the high school level in Louisiana, and earned a doctorate from Louisiana State University in 1955. He taught at William Carey College (now William Carey University) from 1955-1956, then joined the faculty at Southern Miss, where he taught for 22 years and served as debate coach and chairman of the Department of Speech Communication (now Department of Communication Studies). He also taught in China, Indonesia, and Lebanon.

After retiring from Southern Miss, he endowed a fund to benefit graduate students in the Southern Miss Department of Communication Studies.  

“Dr. George was an inspiration for his students, debaters and colleagues,” said Dr. Charles Tardy, chairman of the Department of Communication Studies. “He was curious and adventurous, but also practical and disciplined. He continued to think, talk and write about our field, as well as about politics, religion, philosophy and science long after he retired.”