George A. Dale

George Alexander Dale, 96, of Miami, FL, formerly of Indianapolis, entered heaven Monday, February 17, 2020. He was born in Indianapolis on March 13, 1923, the only child of Greek immigrant parents, Alexander and Andromahe (Dimitriou) Dale.  He was widowed from his wife of nearly 70 years, Mary Kalopy (Christ) Dale on January 13, 2020.

After graduation from Arsenal Technical High School, George studied engineering for two years at Purdue University before being drafted into the US Army in 1943.  After finishing basic training at Ft. Sill in Oklahoma, George then tested for and was selected to be part of the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) to train battlefield engineers. He was sent to Hendrix College in Arkansas to study engineering until the program was disbanded at the height of WWII.  His previous participation in the Army ROTC artillery program at Purdue resulted in his assignment to the 99th Infantry Div., 370th Artillery Battalion, communications section. His service in the Army included the Battle of the Bulge and a post war occupational assignment.  He was returned to the US and was awaiting deployment to the Pacific Theater when WWII ended. 

George entered Butler University on the GI Bill after being honorably discharged from the Army. He received a BS in Business in 1948. 

At the encouragement of relatives acquainted with his future wife, George wrote a letter to Mary Kalopy Christ of Battle Creek, MI; and after receiving her response, decided he needed to meet her.  That began their love story and they were married April 30, 1950.

George loved spending time with his wife and family, staying fit at NIFS and the JCC, and attending annual reunions of the 99th Division. He was a faithful student of God’s word and spent time with Mary studying with Bible Study Fellowship and watching ”Through the Bible with Les Feldick” on television.

Mary and George were avid fans of Butler basketball and were season ticket holders for a number of years. For over twenty years, George spent Race Day at the Indy 500 working at one of the civilian spotter observation stations around the track. He thoroughly enjoyed watching the race from that vantage point and collecting the official race badges.

George worked in sales and property management before getting his Real Estate Broker’s license.  He began studying Real Estate appraising and earned professional appraiser designations of Senior Residential Appraiser and Senior Real Property Appraiser.   He worked as an appraiser for land acquisition for the State of Indiana followed by the City of Indianapolis Departments of Transportation retiring from the City of Indianapolis as Chief Appraiser, Dept. of Capital Asset Management. He was also licensed by the State of Indiana as a Certified General Appraiser.

Survivors include sons, William (Deborah) Dale and Robert (Beatriz) Dale; 4 grandchildren, Dan (Gloria) Dale, Sarah (Paul) Phelps, Natalie Dale, Stephen (Erin) Dale; 6 great-grandchildren; Alyssa, Anna, Alexandra, Ava, Phoebe and Brooks; brothers-in-law, Chris Christ and Peter (Carolyn) Christ, nieces, nephews, and cousins in Michigan, Texas, Canada, and Greece.

George was a longtime member of Colonial Hills Baptist Church, 8140 Union Chapel Road, Indianapolis, IN 46240 where family and friends will gather on Saturday, February 29, 2020 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm for visitation with the funeral service beginning at 1:00 pm.  A military committal ceremony will follow at the Field of Valor mausoleum in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, IN.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in George’s memory to: 

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or

Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Dr, Tampa, FL 33607.

Envelopes will be available at the service.

Bussell Family Funerals Carmel-Westfield is privileged to assist the family with arrangements.

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