George Ira Stancil Jr. | Nov. 6, 1920-Feb. 20, 1997

George Ira Stancil Jr.

Born: Nov. 6, 1920 Johnston, NC
Died: Feb. 20, 1997 Johnston, NC
Buried: Holly Springs Free Will Baptist Cemetery, Kenly, Johnston, NC
Married: Lois Jeannette Hunnicutt on October 7, 1944, in Woodbine, GA
Married: Julia Florence Pollock Atkinson on June 11, 1972, at Center Ridge Presbyterian Church, Kenly, NC

George Ira Stancil Jr., son of George Ira and Eva Ann Mercer Stancil, was born on November 6, 1920, in Johnston County, North Carolina. His birth was delivered by Aunt Cynthia Cockrell, a neighbor and midwife. At the time of his birth, his father, George, and older brothers Emmette and Ralph were cooking syrup. Upon hearing the news, George returned to the house, beaming with joy over the arrival of his new son.

George initially named him "Colonel G.I.," a name recorded on his birth certificate. George Jr. was known for his light hair and blue eyes. He was the youngest of his siblings at the time, arriving nearly 13 years after his brother George Ralph, and after sisters Rachel, Mamie, Vazelle, Myrtle, and Hilda, who was just 17 months older than him. Years later, he would officially change his name to George Ira Stancil Jr. It was said that his mother, Eva, nursed G.I. until she was pregnant with Harold, implying he was nursed until he was about 33 months old, and G.I. reportedly remembered this early bonding.

Growing up, G.I. was part of a lively household. In 1924, his father bought a 1920 Model T Ford Touring car, which Emmette particularly enjoyed driving. One Sunday, the car was overflowing with family members – George, Eva, Effie, Emmette (driving), Ralph, Rachel, Mamie, Vazelle, Myrtle, Hilda, and G.I. – as they headed to Duplin County for Grandma Jane Kennedy’s birthday dinner on May 1st.

School life brought some challenges regarding his unique birth name. In 1930, when Harold Lloyd was six, he knocked on G.I.’s classroom door asking to see "Colonel G.I." G.I. immediately corrected him at the door and, upon returning home, firmly told Harold never to call him "Colonel" again. At school, he was simply known as G.I.

Childhood was also marked by joyful syrup-making days at the farm. Children, often without shoes, would gather with wooden pine paddles to scoop up foam and candy bits, despite the occasional hot splatters of syrup. Among those who frequented these gatherings were Virginia Stancil, Gurnie Stancil, Ruth Stancil, Guy Stancil, Emma Lee Godwin, Marvin Godwin, Cleon Godwin, Dot Stancil, Pluma Stancil, Glenn Stancil, Harold Stancil, Garland Stancil, Eula Grey, Elizabeth Boyette, Marilyn Boyette, J.L. Boyette, and the Collier children. Virginia recalled Miss Ritty's delicious syrup pudding from these times. G.I. also contributed to farm work, driving the mule that pulled the two-horse wagon while his sisters Vazelle, Mamie, Myrtle, and Hilda loaded corn into it for the corn crib.

G.I. completed his formal education after the 8th grade, then farmed for his mother for two years, managing 35 acres of tobacco and cotton using a team of horses and looking after the livestock. For leisure, he enjoyed hunting and fishing.

In 1938, G.I. traveled to Florida to visit his brother Ralph and sister-in-law Ethel. He enjoyed his time there so much that he decided not to return to North Carolina for school. He moved in with Ethel’s mother, Octavia Hales, and her sister Ruby Brown, farming for Octavia for a year. He would often sing "You Are My Sunshine" while doing his morning chores, including milking the cow. G.I. had a lively social life, and there was never a shortage of dates. He was also known for jumping all the gates between Mrs. Hales’ house and Ralph and Ethel’s, while Ralph had to open them properly! He was present when Mrs. Hales' tobacco barn burned, having been awakened by the blaze from his cot near a window. He developed a good friendship with Ruby, Octavia’s daughter, who was about ten years older and had a seven-year-old son. Ralph and Ethel often included them on outings to Lake Weir.

Military Service

G.I. eventually returned to North Carolina and worked in the Shipyards in Newport News before joining the Navy. He enlisted on December 10, 1940, at the U.S. Naval Training Station in Norfolk, Virginia. His enlistment records show he had completed eight years of school and two years working on his mother's farm, where he had cultivated 35 acres of tobacco, corn, and cotton using horses for plowing. He listed hunting and fishing as his leisure activities. He enlisted for six years as an Apprentice Seaman, earning $21 per month, and began smoking soon after entering the Navy.

On February 7, 1941, he was sent to NAS Jacksonville, graduating from Aviation Machinist's Mate School on June 28, 1941. He arrived in San Diego on July 23, 1941, and then in Hawaii on October 21, 1941, where he was admitted to the USN Hospital at Pearl Harbor. According to a November 6, 1941 letter from his sister Mamie to Harold, G.I. had a nasal operation the previous week and was in the hospital, and he wrote to Mamie that he expected to be out of debt by February 1942.

G.I., influenced by his younger brother Harold Lloyd, who also joined the Navy, was assigned to a seaplane unit. As an aviation mechanic, he noted that free cigarettes were provided, piled in three-pound empty coffee cans for all to smoke. On December 6, 1941, when he was just 21, G.I. visited his cousin Guy Stancil (Henry's grandson), who had been stationed in Hawaii with the Army for four years and had married and settled there. The following morning, Sunday, December 7, 1941, just before 8 a.m., G.I. was awakened by bombs while asleep on the second floor of his barracks at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Pearl Harbor.

Later in his service, on October 22, 1942, G.I. was transferred to Photographic Squadron One (Fleet Air Photo Squadron One). In a letter to Ralph's wife Ethel on December 3, 1942, Grace Golda Renfrow mentioned that G.I. was home for the first time in about two years, remarking on how good he looked with his mustache and "all the trimmings," adding that he was now a Second Class Seaman and would be going "back across again soon."

G.I. was stationed at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station when his brother Harold was tragically killed on October 13, 1944. His Navy service included assignments on the USS Wharton (July 1941) and USS Greenwich (July 1947). In 1941, while in the Navy, G.I. took out a $50,000 life insurance policy. On December 11, 1943, G.I. received 20 days of extra duty for not destroying a diary at a Naval Air Training Center, and faced a Court Martial for possessing that diary on Guadalcanal. He was transferred to NAS Whiting Field, Pensacola, on November 14, 1945, and received an acting appointment as an Aviation Chief Machinist Mate on March 2, 1946. He was released from active duty on August 1, 1963, having earned numerous awards including the Navy Unit Commendation, World War II Victory Medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Theater Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal.

Marriages and Family Life

While in the Navy and stationed at Mayport, Florida, G.I. met Lois Jeannette Hunnicutt, who worked at the Airport Grill. Their romance was swift, and they married on October 7, 1944, in Woodbine, Georgia. Jeanette, born in Oconee County, Georgia, was the daughter of Eli Hunnicutt and Cora Lee Willoughby. The morning after their wedding, Jeanette famously burned his toast while cooking his breakfast at the grill – a story G.I. often recounted with a laugh. Ralph and Ethel were surprised by the sudden marriage, with Ralph discovering them when G.I. arrived late one Friday night in October 1944 with Jeannette. Jeanette quickly offered to help with household tasks, such as cutting up French fries, a simple act that ended Ralph's habit of critiquing food. The family also later discovered Jeannette smoked when his niece Georgeanne, at age two, began imitating her, though Jeannette had never smoked in front of them before.

Jeanette and G.I. often visited Ralph and Ethel in Ocala, Florida. Jeanette and Ethel found common ground, both having waited six years before having children. When Jeanette expressed concern about not getting pregnant, Ethel reassured her it would happen. Their first child, George Ira Stancil III, was born on March 5, 1951.

As the Navy frequently moved them, G.I. was transferred closer to Ocala, Florida, which allowed Jeanette, G.I., Ira, and their second son, Don Gordon Stancil (born March 18, 1953), to visit Ralph and Ethel frequently. Ralph and G.I. even bought 90 acres together next to their farm, intending for G.I. to retire there. They were all excited at the prospect of living next door.

Later, G.I. and Jeanette moved to Pensacola, Florida. In December 1954, Georgeanne, then 12, and Renn rode the Greyhound Bus to visit them. While there, Georgeanne made Jeanette a maternity dress as she was expecting Shirley Ann Stancil, who was born on July 7, 1955, in Pensacola. Renn recalled playing in the backyard with Ira and Don. Their youngest daughter, Ellen Jane Stancil, was born on April 15, 1957, in Norfolk, Virginia.

In the family Bible, George Sr. had recorded his children's names, listing his son as "Conl. G.I. Stancil" (Colonel G.I. Stancil). G.I., tired of being teased about his birth name, began to go by G.I. Stancil Jr. — an interesting note given his official North Carolina birth record still listed him as Colonel G.I. Stancil. In 1955, Jeanette joined a Baptist Church in Pensacola.

Childhood antics continued for G.I.'s children; he once calmly observed Ira (5) and Don (3) fighting with tobacco sticks by the barn, assuring a concerned observer that no one would get hurt. When Shirley started school, Jeanette decided to learn to sew and bought a machine. She cherished her home and family, adorning her walls with family photos. Jeanette also created a unique candle holder by allowing a candle to burn and drip wax into a bottle. Every Christmas, she made a delicious Japanese Fruit Cake. G.I., for his part, preferred Pet milk in his coffee and had a whiskey-based cure for laryngitis.

In 1961, G.I. and his family moved back to his childhood farm, where he worked as a Naval Recruiter in Rocky Mount. His mother, Eva Ann Mercer Stancil, lived with them until her death in 1962. G.I. retired from the Navy in 1963. Many of his siblings frequently visited G.I. and his family during Christmases and summers. Jeanette had a remarkable gift for inspiring people to willingly help with the endless household tasks, always welcoming whoever might show up for a meal or a bed.

Later Life and Second Marriage

In March 1969, Jeanette discovered a lump on her hip, which was diagnosed as cancer. She began treatments, becoming very sick. Ethel found her crying in the bathroom at the 1969 Stancil Reunion, where Jeanette tearfully confided that it would be her last reunion. The children were not told of her illness, with the exception of Ira, who was a freshman in college at UNC. In the fall of 1969, as he and G.I. were going to Camp Lejeune, NC, to fix Harold Stancil's car, G.I. informed Ira that his mother had cancer and was dying.

Lois Jeannette Hunnicutt Stancil passed away on April 6, 1970. Her funeral was held at Center Ridge Presbyterian Church in the Glendale Community, Beulah Township, Johnston County, NC. Her pallbearers included Bill Batts and Harold Stancil, who wore his Marine dress uniform.