Originally from North Carolina, George came to Arizona as a youth. He spent his high school years in Phoenix, where he was an accomplished multi-sport athlete, and his college years right here in Tucson, where he played on the UA men's basketball team and was co-captain as a senior. He earned his BA in history in 1955.
When George decided to follow in his father's footsteps by going to law school, he chose the UA once again. In 1962, George returned to Wilmington, NC, where he has since maintained a practice in commercial and admiralty (or maritime) law. It's a fair bet that not many people come to the desert intending to become maritime lawyers!
He is currently special counsel at Rountree Losee, LLP, in Wilmington. He also served in the North Carolina House and Senate from 1971 to 1974 and in 1976 became legislative counsel to Governor Jim Holshouser.
George has remained closely connected to, and supportive of, his
alma mater for over 50 years, with the distance between Tucson and Wilmington proving to be no barrier.
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George with UA athletic director Dave Heeke (left) and current law students Bryce Nakamura (3L) and Reuben Dacher-Shapiro (3L) (at right).
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Over the years, George's generosity has directly supported numerous law students through the Rountree Scholarship. He is also a member of the College of Law Board of Visitors, a former member of the University of Arizona Foundation Board of Trustees, and a current member of the Foundation's National Leadership Council.
George and his wife
Sylvia Rountree were in Tucson last week for a visit with many longtime friends from the University of Arizona, the College of Law, and Arizona Athletics. We presented him with a Law College Association award for which he was selected in 2017. The award is given to alumni who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession or in their support of Arizona Law. George has done both. When notified of the award he asked that we wait until he and Sylvia could join us back in Tucson to be with his many friends and champions in person.
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George with Linda Livengood, Jim Livengood, and Sylvia Rountree (left to right).
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Thirty attendees recently gathered at Vivace, one of George's favorite Tucson restaurants, to greet Sylvia and George. Guests included University of Arizona president
Robert C. Robbins, athletic director
Dave Heeke and
Liz Heeke,
Lute Olson and
Kelly Olson, former UA president
Peter Likins, former provost
George Davis and
Merrily Davis, former athletic director
Jim Livengood and
Linda Livengood, law dean emerita
Toni Massaro, current law students, and several of George's Wildcat basketball teammates from the 1950s.