George E. Fessenden; Former Market Co-Owner
George E. Fessenden, a retired general manager of a lumber company who owned a convenience market in Palmdale, has died in a Palmdale hospital. He was 75.
A longtime resident of Palmdale, he died Thursday of complications from heart problems, said his son, George E. Fessenden II.
Born Oct. 3, 1915, in Searchlight, Nev., Fessenden came to California as an infant and graduated from San Bernardino High School in 1936. He was later hired by the Hayward Lumber Co. in San Bernardino, where he started as a yard manager, working his way up to general manager. He moved to the Antelope Valley in the early 1970s and continued in the same position at the company’s Lancaster location until his retirement in 1968. That year, he and family members bought the Desert View Superette, a convenience store in Palmdale, where he worked until 1979.
Fessenden was a longtime member of the Lancaster Rotary Club, the Lancaster Elks Club, the Fin and Feather Club in Palmdale and the Antelope Valley Country Club.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Lois Fessenden; two sons, George E. Fessenden II of Palmdale and James L. Fessenden of Honolulu; a daughter; Jo Ann Champlin of Lancaster; three brothers, Milton Fessenden of Santa Monica, Donald R. Fessenden of Truth or Consequences, N.M., and Joseph Fessenden of Tulsa, Okla.; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
A graveside service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday at Joshua Memorial Park, 808 E. Lancaster Blvd., in Lancaster. Chapel of the Valley Mortuary in Palmdale is handling the arrangements.
Donations can be made in Fessenden’s name to the Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center in Lancaster.
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