George Fitzhugh Livingston, Jr., 89, of Lewisburg, WV, passed away peacefully in his home on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, surrounded by his children.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of nearly 65 years, Karen Sue Wingham Livingston, his eldest daughter, Joani Kay Livingston; his parents George and Minnie Livingston, his two brothers, Max Eugene and Robert Lewis; and four sisters, Mary Francis, Anita Hope, Willodean and Betty Jane.
He is survived by his three remaining children, Sheri Lynn Livingston Crawford, Cindi Ann Livingston Knight (Tom) and George David Livingston (Babette); grandsons Thomas “TJ” Irving Knight II (Tiffany), John Aldridge Crawford, Steven Paul Crawford (Meagan), Mark Afton Crawford (Emily), and Christopher Jacob Livingston; and great-grandson Thomas “Trey” Irving Knight III.
George was born on Mar. 10, 1937, in Simcoe, AL, to George Fitzhugh Livingston and Minnie Lee Driver Livingston, the youngest of seven children. An alumnus of Fairview High School, he continued his education at St. Bernard College in Cullman, transferred to the University of Alabama, and then to Arizona State University after meeting the love of his life on a summer visit with his sister Betty in Tempe, AZ. George and Karen were married on August 22,1958, and he graduated from ASU with a degree in accounting. They moved back to Alabama after he obtained a job with NASA in Huntsville, then to Fort Worth, TX, where they both attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. They spent the next eight years as missionaries with the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, living in San José, Costa Rica, and Bogotá, Colombia. Due to a difficult illness, they left the mission field and returned to the United States.
After George recuperated, he moved into hospital administration, assigned to hospitals in Scottsdale, AZ, Florence, AL, Lewisburg, WV, Philadelphia, PA, and Tuscaloosa, AL. In 1983 he returned to his mission to bring hope, share Christ and impact the world, serving as president of New Life League (now New Life Advance International) in Waco, TX, traveling the world sharing the gospel and helping expand the New Life ministry through orphanages in Guatemala and India, pastoral training centers, printing presses in Japan and Sri Lanka, broadcasting into China and outreach ministries around the globe. He retired from ministry in 2003 but continued to work part-time as a financial administrator, and officially retired in 2019 shortly after his 82nd birthday.
George and Karen returned to Lewisburg, WV, to be closer to family. After Karen passed away in 2023, George remained busy visiting friends in the community and spending time with his daughters and grandsons, always determined to spread light wherever he went. He considered his friends to be family, and his family to be his best friends. He was dearly loved and will be greatly missed.
A memorial service will be held at Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home in Lewisburg on Monday, May 11, from 1 to 3 PM. The family requests that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to the New Life Children’s Home in Villa Nueva, Guatemala, a place that was near and dear to the heart of the Livingston’s (nlai.org).
Please send online condolences by visiting www.WallaceandWallaceFH.com
