George Walter Bock

GEORGE WALTER BOCK

George Walter Bock, D.O., age 101, formerly of Plattsburgh, NY, passed away on February 15, 2016, in Denver, Colorado.  He was born in 1915, in Manistee, Michigan, the son of Walter and Lettie Bock.

George is survived by five children:  George Walter Bock II, M.D., and his wife Patrice Elizabeth McKee of Denver, Colorado; Bonnie Virginia Bock, M.D., and her fiancé Ed Alves of Newport Beach, California; Brenda Diane Bock Sussna of Chicago, Illinois; Melanie Jane Bock of La Jolla, California; and Cheryl Jeannine Bock Slattery of San Antonio, Texas.  George is survived by four grandchildren:  Benjamin Frost Sussna, Daniel Andrew Sussna, Jennifer Brooke Sussna, and Heather Joy Slattery.  George is also survived by several nieces and nephews.

George was predeceased by his wife Virginia Elizabeth Bonadio Bock in 2009, his father Walter William Bock in 1970, his mother Lettie May Flaska Bock in 1950, his brother Eugene Theodore Bock in 1978, his sister Eleanor Marceline Bock Jones in 2013, and his son Barry Lynn Bock in 1952.

He attended public school in Manistee, Michigan, and graduated from Manistee High School in 1932.  He delivered newspapers for 2 years for the Manistee News-Advocate and was a caddy in Manistee for many years.  In high school, he played varsity football, basketball, and golf.  He also played violin in the Manistee High School Orchestra.  He won some caddie tournaments at the Manistee Golf & Country Club.  In 1933 and 1934, he won the Manistee Golf & Country Club championship and the President’s Cup Tournament in 1935.  He was employed at Kroger grocery store in Manistee for 2 years.

In September 1934, George enrolled in Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery in Kirksville, Missouri.  He was coach, captain, team manager, and No. 1 player the last 3 years of the college golf team.  He was also a member of the college Glee Club, Michigan Club, Kirksville Symphony Orchestra, “O” Club, and interstate basketball team.

On July 7, 1937, George married Virginia Elizabeth Bonadio of Watertown, New York, in Guardian Angel Church in Manistee, Michigan.  Virginia was also a student at KCOS.  George graduated from KCOS in May 1938 and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Osteopathy.

In July 1938, George opened an office in Spickard, Missouri, to practice osteopathic medicine.  After Virginia graduated, the Drs. Bock and Bock started their medical practice at 26 Broad Street, Plattsburgh, NY, in July 1939.  George moved his office to 56 Brinkerhoff Street, Plattsburgh, NY, in 1950 and remained there until his retirement in 1986.

George was club champion in 1940 and 1941 at Cliff Haven Golf Club.  He was a member of Plattsburgh Bluff Point Golf & Country Club from 1942 to 1999.  He was the Club Champion for 12 years:  1946, 1948-1950, 1952-1958, and 1960.  He won the Handicap Conway Trophy Tournament in 1944, 1946, 1949, and 1950, and he was awarded the trophy to keep.  In 1948, he achieved the amateur course record of 68, which held until 1965.  That same year, he was known as the top amateur golfer in the Champlain Valley.  He also won the Elks Lovell Tournament in 1954, 1956, 1961, and 1963 and was awarded the trophy to keep.  He won the Harkness Golf Tournament at Bluff Point in 1969, 1973, and 1974.  In 1977, George won the Maine Osteopathic Golf Association Tournament.  During his golf career, he achieved seven holes-in-one.  One in 1986 earned him a Cadillac Cimarron, the prize for hitting a hole-in-one on the fifth hole of the Fall Classic Tournament at Bluff Point.

George was a member of the Elks and YMCA bowling leagues.  His highest single game was 269, and his highest triple was 716.

He learned to ski as a young boy and continued skiing until age 68.  He was a regular at Whiteface Mountain Ski Center, and he was a ski patrol at Beartown Ski Area.

George was a member of the Clinton County Medical Society, and he was treasurer for 2 years.  He was also a member of the New York State Osteopathic Society, American Osteopathic Society, New York State Medical Society, and American Medical Association.

He was a member of the Plattsburgh Elks Club for over 60 years.  In the 1940s, he was President and Director of the Plattsburgh Golf & Country Club (later Bluff Point), a board member of the YMCA, a member of the Plattsburgh Glee Club, and he played violin in the Plattsburgh Symphony Orchestra.  He was President,  Zone Chairman, and Song Leader of the Plattsburgh Lions Club, during which time, he performed in the “Plattsburgh Follies” and the musical comedy “Victory Vanities”.  George was a member of the United Methodist Church, where he sang in the choir for many years.  Also in the 1940s, Dr. Bock was team sports physician for St. John’s Academy and Our Lady of Victory Academy and President of the Plattsburgh Youth Council.  In the 1950s, he was President of the Plattsburgh State Teachers College Lab School P.T.A.  He was a member of the Plattsburgh Air Force Base Liaison Committee.

After his wife and children, the loves of his life were skiing and golfing.  He and his wife were avid ballroom dancers and square dancers.  They owned a home in North Port, Florida, where they spent winters.  Dr. Bock retired in 1986.  George and Virginia moved from Plattsburgh to Florida in 2000.  In 2003, they moved to Denver, Colorado, to be closer to their son.  George continued to play golf several times a week until age 98, always walking the course.  A lifelong fitness enthusiast, he started teaching exercise classes at age 91 at his retirement home in Denver.

George had an incredible love of life and was always the center of attention wherever he went.  He loved to socialize, but he was also very dedicated to his work.  He received great satisfaction from helping his patients.  His back treatments were legendary in Plattsburgh.  George was very enthusiastic about everything he did.  He lived by the motto his father had told him many years before:  “If you do something, be the best!”  He will be greatly missed by his many friends.

Calling hours will be Saturday, February 27, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. at the R. W. Walker Funeral Home in Plattsburgh, NY.  Funeral services will be held immediately following.  Burial will be in the Spring at Mt. Carmel Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Suncrest Hospice.