George Edward Manning II, a longtime resident of Austin, has died. He lived with his mother in a splendid mansion on Midway Park with an even grander third floor ballroom.
When he was in elementary school, he attended the March on Washington with his father and heard Martin Luther King deliver his “I have a dream” speech. He attended Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin. He was the founder and president or member of several Chicago neighborhood associations (e.g. The Austin Schock Historical Association and The Society of Midway Park).
A modern-day Renaissance man, he was an accomplished musician and ballroom dancing instructor, and an administrator for the University of Illinois Chicago Psychiatric Institute. He also served on the Alliance for the Mentally Ill Greater Chicago board of directors.
His single-handedly restored 18-room Victorian home has been named a Chicago Historical landmark by the Chicago Commission on Architectural and Historical Landmarks. He was a mainstay on the annual Austin Schock housewalk for years.
Visitation will be held on Friday, Jan. 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. at First Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1124 S Ashland Ave. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 25. with prepast from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., service from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., interment at Wunder’s Cemetery, 3963 N. Clark St., and repast at 3 p.m.