By Brenda Ketah

Hundreds of friends gathered in Lake Oswego at the end of April to celebrate the life of George Lorance, who passed away at the end of 2022. George worked for many years for Milgard Windows and eventually retired as the General Manager of the plant in Tualatin. George was very active in the HBA where he served as Board President in 1998, participated in various HBA councils, served on the national level with NAHB, and was a leader with the Home Building Foundation.

George served as an early trustee of HBF in 2005 and a year later helped secure a $100,000 endowment from the Gary E. Milgard Family Foundation for a high school scholarship program. The fund has since awarded over $82,000 to local students seeking degrees in construction, architecture and engineering fields.

George became the HBF Board President in 2009. He continued to serve on the HBF Executive team until 2011, and was voted to the position of Director Emeritus in 2012. Despite spending part of his year in his favorite place on Maui, and then eventually moving full-time to sunny Arizona, George continued to support HBF and returned each year to attend the annual Gala & Auction.

That is where many know his name even if they haven’t actually met George. The “George Lorance Vest” live auction item has been auctioned off every year of the annual event. The tradition began at an HBA event by Rudy Kadlub, HBF Founder and HBA President in 1997. Kadlub wanted to build up excitement and energy for a new auction for the brand-new Foundation, so auctioned off the vest that George was wearing, right off his back! This was a brand-new Nicole Miller vest that George had just purchased the week prior in LA. Despite his surprise, he went along with it. His vest has been auctioned off at every Gala since then, raising nearly $50,000 so far.

At the memorial it was clear that George was beloved in many circles, including his immediate family and longtime friends, his Milgard family, his HBA and HBF family, and many more. George was known for his love of art, wine, travel and motorcycles, but most of all for his love of his family. George is survived by his daughter Tory, son-in-law Dave and his grandchildren, Charlie and Hope.

HBF Gala Honorary Chairs, Luke Morley and Jim Standring, will have the honor of hosting Tory and Dave at the upcoming HBF Gala & Auction on June 3.

George Lorance-One of a Kind

A+ School Year

Building Justice