George L Wittenburg
George L. Wittenburg, born July 28, 1940, in Los Angeles, CA, to Arthur C. Wittenburg and Barbara Wittenburg, passed away on June 29th in Santa Maria, CA. He was predeceased by his only sibling, Margaret Wittenburg.
George’s first 5 years were spent in Denver and New Mexico due to his father’s position as an FBI agent. After the war, the family moved to Silverlake, CA, where George grew up. He attended Notre Dame High School, where he played numerous sports and graduated in 1958. During his youth he spent summers in Trinity, CA and developed a love for fly fishing and hunting. This love would follow him for the rest of his life. Every summer since 1978, George spent time in Montana with his brother-in-law, Bob Wilson, and his children and grandchildren. Some of his best times were on these trips.
George started college in the fall of 1958 at UCSB, majoring in Political Science and minoring in pre-law. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Accepted to USC Law School, he began his studies in the fall of 1962, serving on Law Review and graduating in the top 10% of his class. During his last year of law school, he interned at what would become Mullen and Henzell, and was offered a job there in the fall of 1965. He passed the bar on his first attempt in July 1965, and was admitted to the California State Bar in January 1966.
In July 1967, George married Nancy Margaret “Timma” Buck, and they had a son, Guy Charles “Tim” Wittenburg. Tragically, George lost his mother, Barbara, in April 1970.
In November 1974, George married Brenda J. Wilson, gaining a son, Jason D. Brooks. They enjoyed 20 happy years together, filled with family camping trips with the boys and Brenda’s brother Bob Wilson and his children, going to the boys’ sporting events, and frequent ocean outings. “Pop” loved taking Brenda’s father “Gramps” out on the ocean in his boat, and he would go out no matter the weather or sea conditions. Sometimes we wonder how the boat never sank. There were many fun family trips to Montana, but you learned never to be around George when he was casting his fly rod. Everyone in the family was hooked by him at some time in their life, except Tim, who always sat back-to-back with Pops to stay safe. Brenda passed away in 1994 after a long illness.
George left Mullen and Henzell in 1993 to start his own practice. For the next 2 years, he was single and enjoyed spending time with his boys when they were in town and the annual Montana trip with Uncle Bob. In 1995 he met Joni L. Gray, and they married in November 1997 in Cabo San Lucas, finally adding a daughter, Samantha Wood, to his family. George moved to Santa Maria in 2003 and practiced law with Joni at Kirk and Simas before starting their own firm, Wittenburg, O’Neill & Gray with Jim O’Neill.
In 2012 George’s first wife, Nancy Margaret “Timma” Buck passed away after a long illness. George retired in 2016 after practicing law for over 50 years. Joni passed away on Thanksgiving 2017, just before their 20th anniversary.
George spent his final years playing golf, reading, and spending time with friends and family. He enjoyed Wednesday nights with his buddies at the Santa Maria Country Club. He cherished his granddaughters and looked forward to his annual fishing trips to Montana with Uncle Bob.
George is survived by his three children, Guy Charles “Tim” Wittenburg, Jason D. Brooks, and Samantha Wood; and his three granddaughters, Sofia, Olivia, and Victoria Brooks. He also leaves behind Robert Wilson and his children and grandchildren.
A celebration of George’s life will be held at Harry’s Plaza Café on August 16th from 12 pm-3 pm. Please join us to honor George’s memory with good food, drink, and stories, just as he would have wanted. He will be greatly missed and forever loved.