Obituary of Captain George B. Pressly, USN, (Ret.)

Captain George B. Pressly passed away on September 30, 2026. George was the fourth child of William C. and Harriet Byrne Pressly. He was born on November 18, 1933, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is survived by his sister, Dorothy Fulghum of Vaux sur Vienne, France, and his brother James M. Pressly of Huntsville, Alabama. He was predeceased by his older brother Billy and his older sisters Harriet and Mary Lou.

He is also survived by his wife Judy Potter of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and his three children: Patti Bradbury and her husband Craig of Sandwich, Massachusetts; George Jr. of Nashua, New Hampshire; and Colonel Robert F. Pressly, USMCR (Ret.) and his wife Amy of Rexford, New York. He also leaves behind his stepdaughters, Molly Dall of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and Sarah Fleischer of Montpelier, Vermont, and his six grandchildren, one great granddaughter, and four step-grandchildren.

George attended Needham Broughton High School in Raleigh where he was student manager of the football team and a member of three state championship swimming teams. He received a NROTC scholarship to Duke University from where he graduated in 1955.

He was commissioned upon graduation and began his twenty-four-year naval career. He served in four surface ships, the last being the heavy cruiser, USS Newport News, the flagship of the Commander of the Quarantine Force in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

His additional assignments were in the naval intelligence field. He lived for three years each in Stockholm, Sweden, Rota, Spain, and London, England, with his wife Barbara and his three children, Patti, George, and Bob. While living in these countries, he served in various naval intelligence positions.

He considered his most distinguished accomplishment was founding the Fleet Ocean Surveillance Facility in Rota, Spain. Under his guidance, the organization pioneered new methods for providing operational intelligence to the fleet—innovations that later were a Navy-wide standard for a generation.

Following his retirement from the Navy, George spent a decade at Sanders Associates (now BAE Systems) working in advanced defense technology and intelligence solutions.

After retiring a second time, George founded Nashua Meds and Meds for Manchester, organizations which, along with their offshoots, secured millions of dollars’ worth of free or low-cost prescription medications for hundreds of low-income citizens in New Hampshire.

George met Judy Potter, a lawyer and law professor, in 2002. He moved to Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and married Judy in 2008. They enjoyed the “Maine life,” the Red Sox, the Patriots and the Celtics, numerous cruises, many days in Venice, Italy, and most of all their blended family. He also played many rounds of golf and enjoyed weekly lunches with Richard, Bob, Fred, Kerry, Phil and Tony.

No public services are planned.