George Arthur Gustafson, 81, of Tulsa, Oklahoma passed away at home at 6:00 a.m. on June 6, 2019.

Services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, June 22, 2019 at Asbury Methodist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Mr. George Gustafson was born on July 14th, 1937, in Houston, Texas. George graduated from High School in Kirkwood Missouri in 1955.   He was a member of the Missouri National Guard and was honorably discharged in 1961.  He married Gayle Fredenberg in Amarillo Texas in 1964, adopting Gayle's son Gregory Glenn.  They were blessed with the birth of their daughter Ginger Ann.    George worked for Federal Mogul as a Territorial Sales Rep, charming his way into everyone's heart throughout the Midwest.  In 1985 George met the love of his life, Diane Sevy of Tulsa on a blind date.  They married June 28, 1989.

George was an avid sailor and a true artist at the helm, sailing everywhere from Grand Lake to throughout the Caribbean.  George loved the outdoors, especially fly fishing.  George also loved to cook and was an accomplished chef which led to him becoming a Master Judge for the Kansas City BBQ Society, judging well over 200 competitions throughout many states where he met many friends.

After losing his wife to cancer, George became a Tulsa Master Gardener in 1997, volunteering for over 22 years as an active Master Gardener serving well over 10,000 hours in that time span.  He was passionate about helping people, especially newer Master Gardeners.  George spent a lot of his time at the Extension Office where he was loved by everyone.  Some of his favorite activities were going into elementary schools teaching about gardening, answering phones, and landscaping homes for Tulsa Habitat for Humanity.  George was even an "Ask a Master Gardener" TV Star.

George was preceded in death by Diane, his wife of 6 years.  His son, Gregory Gustafson, in 1989.  Also preceding his death were his mother, Randa, and father, Arthur.

Survivors include his daughter, Ginger Ann Gustafson of Tulsa, his brother Dr. Jerry Gustafson and sister-in-law, Julie of Tulsa, nephew Ed Gustafson and wife Debbie of Tulsa; niece Cheryl and husband Tom Pohl; of San Mateo, CA, niece Cindy and husband Jason Decker of Tulsa and their children.

He will forever be remembered by all for his ornery sense of humor and jokes, crazy stories and wonderful passion for the Tulsa Master Gardener Program.