Saratoga News

George Strehlke

Obituary

George Strehlke

Former Saratoga resident George Louis Strehlke Jr. died May 1 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 68.

Born Nov. 20, 1929, in Seattle, Wash., Strehlke grew up in California and Florida. After graduating from Harvard University in 1951, he joined the U.S. Air Force, in which he served actively until 1956. He continued as a reserve officer until 1960, when he was honorably discharged with a rank of captain.

In 1957, he began working for IBM as a salesman, a career that continued until his 1985 retirement. He also taught courses on computer implementation in manufacturing to industry executives as well as IBMers and was a certified Fellow of the American Production Inventory Control Society.

While living in Saratoga for 15 years, Strehlke developed an interest in bicycling and built a tandem bike for him and his wife to ride. After warming up by riding through the Santa Cruz Mountains, he eventually participated--at age 50--in the Davis Double Century, a 200-mile ride through the heart of California.

In 1987, he and his wife moved to Gilroy, where he served on the Gilroy Growth Task Force and volunteered for the Garlic Festival. He received the Gilroy Beautification Award for his work in getting the drought-era ban on decorative fountains lifted and was a member of the Elks and Sons in Retirement.

Strehlke was predeceased by his youngest son, Rob. Survivors include his wife of 40 years, Gloria, of Gilroy; son and daughter-in-law Brian and Shelley Strehlke of Scotts Valley; daughter and son-in-law Sabrina and Mitch Magnisi of Gilroy; grandchildren Nicholas, Marc, Shannon and Serena Strehlke and Tony and Angelica Magnisi; and sister Sally Strehlke of San Pedro.

Donations may be made to Kaiser Hospice, the American Cancer Society or the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

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