George Teasdale Shalles, Jr., 94, of Columbus, Mississippi, peacefully passed away Tuesday, August 8, 2017, at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Oxford, Mississippi.

Visitation will be Friday, August 11, 2017, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Lowndes Funeral Home, Columbus, MS.  Mr. Shalles will lie-in-state one hour prior to funeral services on Saturday, August 12, 2017 at 2:00 PM at First Baptist Church with Dr. Shawn Parker officiating.  Interment will follow at Friendship Cemetery, Columbus, MS with Lowndes Funeral Home directing.

Mr. Shalles was born on May 5, 1923, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the late George Teasdale and Beatrice Ashcraft Shalles.  He joined the Army Air Force in 1942, serving as radio operator and top turret gunner on B-17 bombers flying missions from North Africa and Italy until his plane was shot down in 1944.  Mr. Shalles spent the remainder of World War II at Stalag Luft I, a Luftwaffe prisoner of war camp in Barth, Germany near the Baltic Sea.

After the war, he met and married Nezzie "Jane" Freeman, who changed his life forever, graduated from Arkansas A&M College with a degree in journalism and worked at several newspapers in northeastern Arkansas.  He worked for 20 years as an office manager and auditor for Beneficial Finance Company in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Mississippi before becoming an owner-operator of Brookshire Dairy Bar in Columbus, MS for 5 years. Mr. Shalles also was the owner-operator of The Bake Shop in Columbus, MS for almost 20 years and co-owner of Columbus Transmission for 10 years in Columbus, MS.

He worked hard and joyfully throughout his life to provide for his family and his children's future and was truly a member of the Greatest Generation. Always recognizable later in life by the distinctive POW-MIA ball cap that he wore, Mr. Shalles was a student of the game of baseball, was devoted to his little dog Mabel (whose favorite spot was his lap) and was known for his meticulously researched Sunday School lessons, which he delivered for more than 30 years at First Baptist Church of Columbus, MS. In addition to his parents, Mr. Shalles is preceded in death by the love of his life, his wife of over 62 years Nezzie "Jane" Shalles.

He is survived by his daughter- Robin (Jeffery) Duncan of Columbus, MS; son- Sieg (Annette) Shalles of Los Alamos, NM; granddaughters- Kimberly (Joe) Loncar, Rebecca Duncan, Jennifer McAllister; great-grandchildren- Philip Loncar, Paul Loncar, Benjamin Loncar and Hannah Loncar.

Pallbearers will be Ira Fuqua, Ray Gross, Bunk Harpole, Bobby Patrick, Forrest Allgood, Steve McEwen. Honorary Pallbearers will be the members of George Shalles Sunday School Class.

The family wishes to acknowledge and express its thanks to Trinity Personal Care and Mississippi State Veterans Home administration, nurses and aides who watched over and cared for Mr. Shalles during his residency at the Home.  A special measure of gratitude to those who made his final days peaceful and comfortable and to the Camellia Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund, 202 7th St N, Columbus, MS 39701, American Diabetes Association, 200 Office Park Drive, Suite 303, Birmingham, AL 35223 or Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society, P O Box 85, Columbus, MS 39703.