Earlier this week, George Bornhijm, Sugarloaf Firefighter and a former long-time leader of the Sugarloaf Annual Garage sale, passed away at the age of 81.

Along with being a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and brother, George was a volunteer firefighter who also helped transform the Sugarloaf Garage Sale into a BIG EVENT. He loved to tease everyone around him that “If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much!”.

Born in 1943 in Nazi-occupied The Netherlands, George joined the Royal Netherlands Navy after high school, and became a career pilot and officer. That included 11,000 flying hours as a NATO pilot.

After retiring in 1998, he and his wife, Sarah (Sally), and son, Rob, emigrated from the Netherlands to Sugarloaf, where Sally’s mother was already living.

George joined the volunteer fire department, where he was able to apply both his mechanical expertise and his legendary quick wit to help improve the department.

He and Sally led the garage sale from 2000 until 2014, and in that time, it developed into the much-anticipated, multi-day event that it is today. This year’s garage sale is being dedicated to George, and the incredible effort he made to ensure its success.

He will be missed by firefighters and by the many volunteers and customers involved with the annual garage sale, but his exuberant spirit will never be forgotten.

“Proost,” George, from all of us on Sugarloaf!