2003 George Obear

George Obear

Obear was born Oct. 4, 1908, in Delphi. He graduated from Delphi High School in 1926, DePauw in 1930 and the University of Iowa Law School in 1933. After graduation and passing the Indiana Bar exam, Obear joined his father James O. Obear in the practice of law.

In 1934, he married Margaret Fry and she died in 1976. They had two daughters, Martha Huggins of Swarthmore, Pa., and Judith Bunn of Fort Wayne. He also has five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. He married Louise Nichols in 1978 and she died in 1993.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Obear served as the conciliation commissioner for Carroll County. This position was created to help administer a form of bankruptcy permitting a farm-debtor to bargain with creditors and perhaps obtain lower interest rates and extension of due dates.

He has served as Delphi city attorney and attorney for Delphi School Corporation. During this time, he became involved with school bond issues, construction contracts, township trustees, local tax rates, surveys and drainage issues, all matters affecting farms and farmers. Carroll County was a farm community and, according to Obear, until the farmers prospered, no attorney could prosper.

On July 1, 1944, he reported for active duty in WWII as a newly commissioned officer in the United States Naval Reserve. In April 1946, he returned to Delphi, helping mostly farm clients with income tax problems and estate planning.

Other achievements include being honored as American Legion Citizen of the Year in 1970 and receiving the Samuel Milroy Award in 1997. In 1998, he was named Sagamore of the Wabash. His work with the Carroll County Wabash & Erie Canal resulted in the Obear Millrace Trail being named in his honor.

He is a charter member of the Delphi Rotary Club, founded in 1939, and was chairman of the Carroll County Republican Central Committee during the Eisenhower years.

Other organizations and activities include Masonic Orders, IOOF, Indiana and American Bar associations and Delta Chi Fraternity, where he is now recognized as a
national president emeritus.

February 11, 2010


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