Desert Messenger

24 www.DesertMessenger.com December 4, 2019 RAYMOND ROBERT BRIESCH On Tuesday, November 19, 2019, Raymond Robert Briesch passed away at the age of 51 in Blythe, Cali- fornia. Raymond was born on April 13, 1968 to Fred and Leslie (Orland) Briesch in Moline, Illinois. Ray was born and raised in Mo- line, Illinois where he graduated from Moline High School and went on to Marion Military Institute in Alabama. He graduated with an Associ- ate degree and the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Ray had a passion for history and loved his country, serving in the Army National Guard. He was known for his unwavering willpower, competitive nature, quick-wittedness, and a work ethic second to none. Ray worked as a Commercial Journeyman Electrician for many years before becoming a Solar Production Techni- cian. He lived with his wife and sons in Arizona. Raymond had a passion for fishing and love for the Oakland Raiders. He will be deeply missed and forever loved. Ray was preceded in death by his father, Frederick Briesch; brother Fred- erick Briesch; and aunts Bev, Bonnie and Sharon. He is survived by his wife Wendy; his mother and stepfather Leslie & Gary Danzeisen; sons Karl and Robert; stepsons Josh and Jon; brothers and sisters Lisa Perrenoud, Velvet (Mike) Eggert, John (Maria) Briesch, Kelley Briesch, Amy (Micha) McDonald, Natasha (Kevin) Moninski, Angie (Neil) Theisen, and Billy Tague; numerous nieces and nephews, uncles Bill (Kayla) Briesch and Rees (Rita) Orland; cousins Jamie (Leondae) Woods and Katie Briesch. The memorial service were held on Monday, December 2nd at the Quartzsite Alliance Church, 720 W Desert Vista St, Quartzsite, AZ 85346 at 4:00 pm MST (AZ time). Condolences may be sent to: PO Box 2319 Quartzsite AZ, 85346 In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the QAC Youth Group: PO Box 2817, Quartzsite AZ, 85346 In Memoriam GEORGE MCKINNEY For over 30 years they made music in Quartzsite. George and Polly McKinney were more than a legend; they were an icon in the desert music world. George passed away on November 19, 2019, and is undoubted- ly regaling the angels with his country music while he awaits reunion with his beloved Polly. You can bet that George starts his performance with his trademark,"HOWDEE!" to which the audience always roared back "How-DEE." Then Polly would cock her head, sparrow-like, raise her arms and he would instruct, "Say Hi to Polly." And the audience would shout "Hi, Polly!" We'll miss that, and we'll miss their music. Their wedding picture shows an adorable, tiny girl and a very handsome beaming man; that was 67 years ago. Polly was from Baytown, Texas and George from Oklahoma. They met in a movie theater when some of Polly's girlfriends decided to sit by some boys and Polly went and sat in an empty row. She says, "George leaped over a row of seats to beat out his friends to sit by me." Polly was only 15 at the time. George was in the military in Columbus, Georgia and Polly was still in Baytown, Texas. He went to see her every weekend. How did he get there? "He said, "I hitchhiked. Awe, it was only 900 miles!" He finally got tired of that and decided it was "time to get hitched." Early pictures are said to show "George with his guitar in his hand, his hat on his head and a horse between him and his wife." George and Polly had a contract with Special Services to play a show every week and he formed bands in Germany, Japan and Korea. He and Polly traveled everywhere together. In January 1970 they came through Quartzsite on their way to Fort Ord, California. They saw "there was music all over." So in 1987, they came here to live in the winter. Where did they go in the summer? "Wherever the road goes," Polly said. "We have four kids, lots of kin folks and musi- cian friends all over." George suffered a devastating stroke and the story of his recovery is amaz- ing. He had no formal rehab so he said "I did my own P.T." He couldn't talk, walk or use his left side. He said, "I believe there's muscle memory, so I thought if I move my right shoulder this way then I could move my left shoulder that way." And he kept at it until he could move and walk. His voice was another matter. He said, "I imagined I had one vocal cord on each side, this side for bass, and this side for treble." And he would "squawk" high or low and then switch sides. His voice came back, al- though it took two and a half years. His left hand, he claimed, was still weak and sometimes he couldn't play the fast chords the way he wanted to. It certainly wasn't noticeable. Polly and George traveled with a huge dog that sat in the front seat. He was brown and black and wore a harness and was real good looking. George spotted this stuffed dog at Love's and he wanted it but wouldn't spend the money on it, so Polly bought it for his Christmas present and surprised him. George said sometimes they traveled and stuck the dog up behind the steering wheel. Cars would go by, slam on their brakes and take a second look at the "dog driving the rig." As far as we know, the dog has never caused an accident! George's Memorial was held on November 23, 2019. It was attended by family members and friends; many of whom shared remembrances of George. His daughter Kathy remembered, "Dad would throw things in the car, say get ready, we're going." And away the family would go. He would never tell them where they were going and it wasn't until later years that she realized HE didn't know where they were headed! A group of about ten musicians played and sang some of George's favor- ite songs. Polly joined in on one and Kathy sang "Amazing Grace" with a pure, breath taking soprano. Many shed tears as they remembered a beloved musician. Polly is leaving to live in California with her daughter Kathy. We'll miss them, George and Polly, but the memories will remain. Submitted by Jackie Deal * Parts of this article was taken from an interview with George and Polly done in December of 2016. In Memoriam

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