George Montgomery (Fishers) died under home hospice care on October 28, 2017, in the company of family members & close friends.

George was born in Washington, D.C. in December, 1941, to George A. and Genevieve (Keller) Fruit (Falls Church, VA), both deceased. After his father’s early death (1954), George’s mother remarried and moved her family to Indianapolis.

George graduated from Indiana University (B.A. in History and Economics) before spending several years of active military service in South Korea during the Vietnam War, analyzing aerial survey photos for Army Intelligence.  While meeting military reserve obligations, George also earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree (J.D.), cum laude, from the IU School of Law in Bloomington.

After a 2-year judicial clerkship with U.S. District Court Judge James E. Noland, George worked as a Deputy Prosecutor in Marion County, trying dozens of cases in Indianapolis (including the Tony Kiritsis trial in 1979) before accepting a position with a prominent Evansville law firm, then known as Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald & Hahn. As a partner at BFOH, George focused his practice on insurance defense litigation.  After working in southwest Indiana for most of his professional career, George returned to Indianapolis in 1994 and worked for several years as a trial attorney at DeMoss & Associates before fully retiring from the practice of law in 2000.  As an avid reader, George greatly enjoyed his post-retirement avocation as a part-time bookseller at Barnes & Noble.

George is survived by his two sons and their families: Burke & Bridget Montgomery, with Xavier & Simone (Evanston, IL), and Scott & Cari (Rezman) Montgomery, with 2-1/2 year-old triplets, Leonard, Josephine & Morris (Indianapolis, IN).  George is also survived by his 2 sisters, a brother-in-law, and his brother: Claudia Fruit Dweck (Amsterdam, NY), Martha & Michael Rohr (West Orange, NJ), and David & Dawn Montgomery (Fishers, IN).  George’s surviving nieces and nephew include: Gweneth  Montgomery and Adam Lee (Carmel), Joseph & Jennifer Montgomery, with Lola (Noblesville), and Melinda Ernst and Gary Gates (Mt. Tabor, NJ), parents of Colin, Maxine and Jasper.

Family members & close friends will gather in Indianapolis for a Celebration of Life on February 24.  At a future date, George’s cremains will be interred at the Department of Veteran Affairs’ new national cemetery and VA memorial, opening near Crown Hill Cemetery in 2019.  George was pleased to learn that he would also be survived by an adjacent Indiana native forest, home to some of Indiana’s oldest trees.