Barilla, George Michael, 78, of Sun City West AZ, passed away peacefully on September 22, 2023 surrounded by his children. George was preceded in death in 2017 by his beloved wife, Pattie Louise Barilla (née Butz). George is fondly remembered as a loving father to his five children Anthony (Emily Patterson), Margaret (Craig Saunders), Rosemary (Kevin Deuschle), Jane (Timothy Grube), and Andrew (Rickii), and grandfather to eleven grandchildren.

George was born to the late Michael and Mary Barilla (née Kralik) on December 9, 1944 in Lakewood, Ohio. His life was shaped by formative experiences in church, Navy ROTC and as an engineer. He loved working on groundbreaking software systems with Texas Instruments and Expertelligence through which he had many opportunities to travel, seeing the world. George will be remembered for camping across the country with his children, a good book always in hand, those one-liner jokes and many songs and amusement rides shared with his grandchildren. Perhaps most of all, he loved music. He played the piano, bass, and accordion, singing in churches, musicals, and ensembles throughout his life. When they were young, his children were sometimes embarrassed by the way his tenor carried above everyone else’s voice in church, but later came to understand how much George loved sharing his voice with others. He loved his community of fellow music lovers in Surprise (Sun City Grand), and was devoted to the shows they produced together. His family is grateful to this community for embracing his musical talents and energy.

Funeral Mass will be held Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 10:00am at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 19002 N 128th Ave, Sun City West, AZ. Virtual live mass will be available at https://ololscw.org/specialev… Celebration of Life to follow at 11:00 am at the Heritage Traditions, 19303 N New Tradition Rd Sun City West AZ. Inurnment will be at 1:00 pm at Sunland Memorial Park, 15826 Del Webb Blvd, Sun City, AZ.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to his favorite music club! Checks can be made out to the Sun City Grand Music Club. 

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