Lasting Memories

George Clement Heaton
Sept. 22, 1925-July 10, 2015
Stanford, California
Submitted by Wendy Heaton

Engineer, handyman, spiritual seeker and friend, George Clement Heaton passed away peacefully on July 10, 2015, at the age of 89, at the Stanford home he shared for 35 years with his beloved partner Sita de Leeuw, who predeceased him on May 18, 2015. He had recently been hospitalized with pneumonia and died of natural causes.

George was born on Sept. 22, 1925, in the town of Gerrards Cross, England, to William Heaton and May King-Smith Heaton. He was educated at Oxford and Manchester universities, achieving a master's degree with honors in mechanical engineering. He spent much of his career employed as a mechanical engineer, initially in the aerospace industry and later for private industry and academic research laboratories. In his later years he loved being a general handyman who could fix anything.

George's hobbies included glass ceramic art (for which he developed a patented process), sketching and videography. Known for his keen intellect and dry wit, he was a spiritual seeker interested in all things metaphysical, and was a faithful member for three decades of the Friends of Palo Alto Quaker community.

George will be missed by his three children: Wendy Heaton Orlik of Nevada City, California; Christopher Heaton of Fullerton, California; and Noel Heaton of Santa Ana, California; as well as by his younger brother, Ral Heaton, of Bogner Regis, England; his nieces and nephews; and his many other extended family members and close friends.