George Francis Scarborough

George Francis Scarborough, 77, of Pensacola, FL passed away peacefully Wednesday, May 4, 2011 surrounded by his family.

George Francis Scarborough was born on Good Friday, March 30, 1934 in Lexington, KY. The son of George Buskie and Ada Wheat Buskie, George spent his early years in Miami, FL and San Diego, CA. He moved to Milton, FL in 1946 when his family was transferred to Whiting Field.

George attended Milton High School and remained close to many of his classmates, hosting Milton High reunion events over the past 20 years. After graduating, he returned to Lexington where he attended the University of Kentucky from 1952-1956. There he fell in love with Kentucky basketball and his future wife, Mary Joanna Clark. George and Mary Jo were married on August 14, 1955 at Second Avenue Baptist Church in Rome, Georgia. George graduated from the University of Kentucky the next year with a B.S. degree in Business.

George Scarborough served in the U.S. Army from 1955-1957, and was stationed at Ft. Benning, GA and Ft. Polk, LA. Carolyn Elizabeth Scarborough was born to George and Mary Jo in 1957 while they were stationed at Ft. Benning. They went on to have two more children, George Clark Scarborough was born in Rome, GA in 1960 and Charles Joseph Scarborough was born in Atlanta, GA in 1963.

While in Atlanta, George worked as a manufacturing engineer for Lockheed. He was proud to work on the C-5A, the C-130, and the L-1011 projects. He often said his work at Lockheed was the favorite of all his jobs. George was transferred to Lockheed's Meridian, MS plant in 1969 after the L-1011 assembly line was moved to Meridian. In 1973, he began work at National Homes as a purchasing agent and was soon transferred to Elmira, NY. During his time in Upstate New York, he took a job at American LaFrance as an Industrial Engineer.

In 1978, George and his family had the opportunity to move to Pensacola, FL where he began working with Mary Jo, who at that time was a director for the Miss National Teenage pageant. In 1983, the Scarboroughs and Carolyn Hawkins founded the Miss American Coed Pageant. George was named the national director.

George Scarborough took great pride in the fact that the organization consistently promoted patriotism, community service and a strong academic record. Through extraordinary focus and hard work, George and Mary Jo Scarborough's pageant organization became the largest in the United States within a few years. He enjoyed meeting families across America throughout the year and going to the national pageant each summer in Hawaii. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pensacolanewsjournal/obituary.aspx...