George Lichter—No regrets: A Life Well-Lived, Fighting for Peace and Justice
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George had a long and deep history of fighting for peace and justice. He gave generously to Jewish and Israeli causes and especially to organizations that advocated for peace and compromise.
Peggy, George’s daughter, and her spouse David say that it’s their good fortune to be able to fund an endowment at the HIAS Foundation because George was so generous with his kindness and financial support to his family—and not only to his family but to numerous charitable organizations he deemed worthy and to individuals in need.
George joined the United States Air Force in 1941, immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. By the end of World War II, George was a decorated fighter pilot, having flown 88 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe, including air support during the Normandy invasion.
After World War II, outraged by the Holocaust, George was deeply moved by the struggle to create an independent Jewish State. He signed up as a Machalnik (volunteer) and was assigned to an air base in Czechoslovakia, where he became one of the first and most important flight instructors of the Israeli Air Force.
From 1948 to 1950, he lived in Israel and gave "wings" to the first Israeli pilots, who included the commander of the Israel Air Force during the Six Day War and the chief test pilot in the early decades of the state. Although George was not religious, he felt a need to play his part to support the creation of Israel. He became a hero to many Israelis, including Ezer Weizman, former president of Israel.
From the early 1950s through 1990, George was active in the textile industry, where he became a self-made success throughout the United States with the development of Berkeley Mills, a converter and importer of drapery fabrics. After selling the textile business, George retired in 1995 to Boulder, Colorado, where he enjoyed the company of eleven family members in three generations.
George, aviator, businessman, and philanthropist, died in Boulder, Colorado, on August 2, 2013, two weeks after being diagnosed with leukemia (AML).
In the week before he died, George said, "I've had a good long run." His biography, by Vic Shayne, is titled Ups & Downs With No Regrets, and his story was included in a film documentary on Jewish-American air force volunteers in the 1948 War of Independence—Above and Beyond: The Creation of the Israeli Airforce, produced by Nancy Spielberg.
Peggy and Dave want to keep George’s legacy of generosity going. George’s legacy of philanthropy will live on in the form of an endowment to the HIAS Foundation, which will provide essential support to refugees from around the world, supporting peace and justice for all, particularly for refugees in need and to defend democracy.
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