George Willis Bashore ’55

George, of Mt. Lebanon, Pa., and a retired bishop of the United Methodist Church, died Dec. 13, 2024. Friends and colleagues said he was a stalwart supporter of younger clergy and a master vocalist who wove music into almost everything he did.

George was born Jan. 21, 1934, in Lancaster, Pa., and attended John Piersol McCaskey High School, where he participated in student government, journalism, Hi-Y, basketball, tennis, and orchestra. At Princeton, he majored in modern languages and was president of Prospect Club. He was also a member of the board of advisers and president of the Wesley Foundation. His senior-year roommate was Bill Kingston. George graduated from Princeton cum laude and cum laude from United Theological Seminary.

For 14 years he served as pastor in Reading, Pa., where the congregation initiated a creative inner-city ministry; he then helped inaugurate an ecumenical interracial ministry in the city. After his election as a bishop, he served as president of the Council of Bishops and president of the General Board of Discipleship. He served the Boston area from 1980 to 1988 and the Pittsburgh Area from 1988 to 2000.

George was married to Carolyn Ruth Baumgartner in September 1957. She survives him along with their three children, Wanda Allison, John, and Barbara Heagy; seven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.