SHARPTOWN - George Clayton Tarpley died Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was a son of the late George Burnell Tarpley and Mary Murray Wilson Tarpley.
He attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, then earned his Associate's Degree in Chemistry from Brooklyn College. He served in the U.S. Air Force, achieving the rank of Airman 1st Class. He worked as a food testing tech for A & P Laboratories, an investigator for the International Security Bureau, and a security manager for the City Squire Hotel in Manhattan. In 1970, he and his school-age sons moved to Sharptown, upon the death of his first wife, Margaret Mullen Tarpley. He worked at Deer's Head State Hospital, retiring in 1995.
He was preceded in death his middle son, Cliff Tarpley.
He is survived by his wife, Delores Wagner Tarpley; eldest son, Clayton Tarpley; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; a sister, Ann Rose; and many nieces and nephews.
He was a member of Our Lady of Lourdes in Seaford and a Weather Watcher for WMDT.
A funeral service was held Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, at Short Funeral Home in Delmar. The family observed a private graveside service.