George F. Condike

Dr. George F. Condike

Granbury – Dr. George Francis Condike, 102, passed away at his home in Granbury, TX on October 3, 2019.
Born as George Condikey on December 1st, 1916 to Mary Elizabeth (MacDonald) and Constantine Condikey, Dr. Condike graduated from Brockton High School in Massachusetts. George worked his way through school, earning a B.S. in chemistry from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. George distinguished himself at DePauw by being inducted into the Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa honor societies, and at Cornell by being inducted into the Sigma Xi honor society.
George met the love of his life Eileen Rowe while working at a restaurant in Hyannis, MA. George and Eileen eloped and married in Fall River, MA on January 2nd, 1941, formalizing their union later that year with a church wedding in Bridgewater, MA on June 14th. They were married for 75 years until her death in 2016.
During WWII Dr. Condike worked as a research scientist on government projects at the General Electric plant in Salem, MA. His innovation led to the development of a burn-out proof light bulb for military aircraft instrument panels, saving the lives of many American servicemen.
After the war Dr. Condike worked at the Mellon Institute for Industrial Research in Pittsburgh, PA; for Rohm & Haas in Philadelphia, PA; and for Resinous Products in Santa Monica, CA. In 1947, he began teaching in the Massachusetts State College System at Fitchburg State College (now Fitchburg State University), with an interim post at Bridgewater State College.
As a full Professor at Fitchburg State College (FSC), George taught chemistry, physics, geology, and astronomy. Dr. Condike continued his independent research, publishing many articles in scientific and educational journals, and attended several summer institutes in North Carolina, Kansas, Oregon, California, and Illinois. He served as FSC’s Chemistry Department Chairman from 1949 to 1952 and from 1955 to 1966, and as Academic Dean from 1954 to 1956. Dr. Condike retired from teaching in 1982 with the title of Professor Emeritus, an honor he held until his passing.
In 1972 the Massachusetts State College Board of Trustees took the unprecedented step of naming the George F. Condike Science Building at FSC in honor of a current faculty member. The university rededicated the building in 2015 as the Condike Wing of the new Robert V. and Jeanne S. Antonucci Science Complex.
Dr. Condike was preceded in death by his parents Constantine and Mary Condike; stepmother Ellen J. (Johnson) Nelson, four brothers (James (Demetrius), Robert (Hippocrates), Charles (Constantine), and Richard), and by his wife Eileen. He is survived by his daughter, Brenda R. DiPietro of Columbus, OH; his son, Brian J. and Mary Lou Condike of Granbury, TX; three grandchildren, Thomas M. Waid of Columbus OH, Meridith B. Young of Barre, MA, and Curtis W. Condike of Clinton, MA; and by two great-grandchildren, Emily R. Young of Barre, MA, and Ava G. Condike of Irvine CA.
A funeral service will be held at Saint Frances Cabrini Catholic Church Chapel in Granbury, TX on Saturday, November 16th at 11:00 a.m., followed by an interment ceremony at Holly Hills Memorial Park in Granbury.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Fitchburg State University’s ‘Make a Gift’ program at www.FitchburgState.edu, specifying the gift go toward the Polito Family Trust in honor of Fitchburg State University faculty.