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George Andrew Brightwell, Jr.

George Andrew Brightwell, Jr.

George Andrew Brightwell, Jr.

George Andrew Brightwell, Jr., passed from life in this world to join the chorus of heaven on Tuesday, April 11. A celebration of George’s life will be held at the Lois Perkins Chapel at Southwestern University on Saturday, April 29, at 1 p.m.

George was born on July 10, 1935, in Fort Worth, Texas, to George Andrew Brightwell, Sr., and Valda Swink Brightwell. The second of three children, he attended Fort Worth public schools and graduated from Pascal High School in 1953. His childhood church home was First Methodist Church of Fort Worth, where he met his wife, Barbara Hinson Brightwell, at Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF) when he was 18. He had been dating another girl when Barbara’s cousin encouraged them to date. Early on, George built a strong relationship with Barbara’s mother, and they enjoyed lots of intellectual conversations and discussions.

George attended Rice University from 1953-1957, earning his bachelor’s degree in economics. He then earned his MBA in production management from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, in 1958. When George made the decision to matriculate to Rice University, Barbara decided to alter her choice of universities to attend the University of Houston. During this time in Houston, they were both cheerleaders at their respective colleges.  They dated throughout their college years, and following the awarded MBA degree, George and Barbara were married on October 24, 1958. They were married 64 years at the time of his death.

After 20 years in the corporate world, George and Barbara moved from Houston to Georgetown where George served as Registrar and a part-time faculty member at Southwestern University while Barbara was serving as Dean of Students. After another 20 years of service at Southwestern, George retired, and continued to volunteer in bringing greatly needed services to Georgetown. In his retirement, he was active on numerous non-profit boards, including Lifesteps: Williams County Council on Alcohol and Drugs; Wesleyan Homes; Georgetown Boys and Girls Club; Getsemani Community Center; and ROCK (Ride on Center for Kids). He was also active in the founding group for Georgetown YMCA, and supported the Georgetown Ministerial Alliance, and Courageous Conversations. 

George was creative and loved choral singing, as he served for years as a member of San Gabriel Chorale and also on the choir and praise team at his beloved Wellspring United Methodist Church in Georgetown. George and Barbara were founding members of Wellspring, which began with core team meetings in their own living room, and he served as a volunteer staff member for Wellspring for the first ten years following its formation. Besides his singing talent, he was also known for his amazing poetry, witty humor, and the perfect zinger line to any conversation. “Georgeism’s” can be repeated by those who know and loved him. In the past years, George added executive producer to his long list of accomplishments as he has produced a documentary, “Where the Horses Heal the Soul,” to be premiered soon at private viewings and film festivals. 

George and Barbara have been honored for their generous support and gift of time given to so many of the non-profits in Georgetown. Together they were honored with the Jeremiah Wilbank Award by the Boys and Girls Club in 2010 and the Georgetown Family YMCA Volunteer of the Year Award in 2021. George was honored in 2015 by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce with the Jesse (Buz) Sawyer Award.  He and Barbara have a Welcome Plaza named in their honor at ROCK, and they were honored with a recent naming of the Brightwell Loop fronting the Williamson County Juvenile Justice Service. 

George was a man of deep abiding faith.  He believed that Jesus loved everyone, and “all means all”. His life and teaching greatly influenced the recent revision of Wellspring’s motto to now read: “All are welcome, all are accepted, all are loved, and all means all.” George’s faith was exhibited in his lifelong membership of the United Methodist Church and led to his selection as recipient of the Morris Walker Award for outstanding lay leadership in the Central Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. George had served as a delegate to the annual conference for more than 30 years representing First UMC and then, upon the formation of Wellspring UMC, as a delegate through 2019.

George was preceded in death by his parents and his two sisters, Linda Brightwell Maxcy and Pat Brightwell Whitson. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, her brother, Larry Hinson, his nieces and nephews and a host of family friends who always felt related to George. Though they had no children of their own, the service and financial support of the Brightwell’s leaves a legacy of many, many of God’s children who have benefited from his life.

George Brightwell was kind and loving, always ready for a big bear hug, and a whisper in your ear, “You are loved”. He adored his beloved Barbara and was overhead singing to her less than 48 hours before he left his earthly body.  

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution of time, talent or treasure to one of the following charities or to a charity of your choice (information about donations and giving is on each organization’s website):

Wellspring United Methodist Church at https://wellumc.org/giving/contributions 

ROCK (Ride On Center for Kids) at https://rockride.org/donate/ 

Wesleyan Homes at https://thewesleyan.org/give

The service will be livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/wellumc/live. It will also be available shortly after at: https://www.youtube.com/@wellspringgeorgetown6099