George Michel Parker, 84, died on Thanksgiving, Nov. 24, at his home in Mount Dora of complications from pneumonia.

Born Georges Michel Heesakker in La Pointe/Bouchemaine, France, on Oct. 31, 1938, George left France to seek a new life in the United States when he was 18, traveling alone and speaking no English. He had completed a four-year apprenticeship in carpentry and journeyed to Appleton, WI, to live with his Dutch cousin and sponsor. When confronted with his first Wisconsin winter, he loaded his bags, tools and a ham into his 1937 Chrysler wagon and headed to California and warmer weather, where he worked odd jobs until founding a framing company with another young go-getter, Ed Fuess, eventually employing two hundred workers. At 20, George became the youngest person to ever pass the rigorous California General Contractor exam, only to realize he wasn't old enough to sign contracts.

Tired of repeatedly having to spell his last name, he changed it to the simpler Parker--an arbitrary choice suggested by his attorney--when he became a US citizen in 1962.

The growing population and congestion in Southern California prompted George to move to Florida, where he eventually visited Sanibel and Captiva. The Gulf of Mexico islands appealed to him so strongly, he moved there in 1983 and began a 25-year career as one of the islands' top custom builders. His carpentry skills meant nearly every home had some personal touch created by George: a sweeping handrail, a "secret" door that was also a bookcase, fireplace surrounds and intricate stairways. He enjoyed tackling the tricky aspects of construction and had an uncanny ability to visualize solutions three-dimensionally.

He and his wife, Virginia, closed their business in 2008, seizing the chance to spend summers on Whidbey Island, WA, with views of Puget Sound, salmon fishing, nine-ball and listening to operas. They moved to Mount Dora in 2012, where George transformed still another sow's ear of a house into a silk purse called "home."

He is predeceased by his parents, Jean Heesakker and Anne Charon, two brothers, Jean and Gilbert, and a sister, Gertrude. He is survived by his beloved wife of 37 years, Virginia (Loomis) and sons from his first marriage, Damian (Jessica) of Tallahassee, and Stephen (Lana) of Mount Dora, who were blessed to grow up under his care, as well as two grandchildren, Cierra and Luke, and two sisters, Janine de Ryckman of Veneta, OR, and Odette Braibant of Angers, France, plus numerous nieces and nephews.

His ashes will be buried in May in Granby, CT, in the Loomis family plot in order to be at rest beside his wife upon her passing.