The Pilot Sports staff lost one of its best team members Friday.

George Lawther, 79, of Southern Pines and an integral part of The Pilot Sports department for more than a decade, died Friday at Duke University Hospital from complications following surgery for pancreatic cancer.

During his career with The Pilot, Lawther covered primarialy North Moore and The O'Neal School programs. He was a fixture at games, until he took a hiatus this summer to battle his cancer.

Lawther was a diehard sports fan, who genuinely cared for the teams, players, coaches and the schools that he covered.

"George was very loved, not only by the coaches and administrators, but by the kids in the programs," said North Moore head softball and girls' basketball coach Sammy McNeill.

"When we played he was there," McNeill said. "Home or away it didn't matter. There were times when he'd hop on the bus, ride to and from the games with us and even eat with us.

"Once the game was over we'd have our (team) meeting at second base and you'd see him coming through the gate and around third base with a big smile on his face. Those were good memories. He was real good to us."

McNeill's memories of Lawther are typical.

"George really supported us," said North Moore Athletic Director Bob Collins. "He was just here all the time. He loved North Moore athletics and we are definitely going to miss him."

Lawther is survived by his former wife of 48 years, Anne Lewis Lawther of Peekskill, NY, and their four children, two brothers, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Visitation will be held at Boles Funeral Home, 425 Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines, on Saturday, Dec. 20, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. A memorial service will be held that same day at 3 p.m. at Christ Community Church.

Lawther was a singer in civic and church choirs who, in recent years, developed a love for karaoke. He enjoyed sharing his gift of singing through civic and church choirs and, in later years, developed a love for karaoke. He loved to read, and wrote mysteries and short stories. But what we at The Pilot remember George for is his love of sports.

George was a sports fan. A guy who was comfortable talking about any sport at any level -- especially his college alma mater, Penn State.

"When he got comfortable with me, and I got comfortable with him George would come out on the field during practice," McNeill said. "He'd be walking around giving us instructions."

Fellow sports writer Charlie Bergmann, has fond memories of George too.

"I went to many North Moore softball games that George covered over a period of about six years, sometimes as a collaborator and often as a spectator. Some of the road trips we took together to places like Cherryville and East Surry were memorable. I was struck by the strong affection that the Mustang players and their supporters had for George. I think they appreciated that he almost never missed a game home or away. And I think his love of the softball team, and Mustang athletics in general, showed through in his accounts," Bergmann said. "As the reporter for North Moore softball games during their perennial trips to the state final four, I think he got to cover one of the most exciting chapters in local sports in this decade -- and he did it well."

I didn't have the privilege of working closely with George. Unfortunately, by the time I took over as sports editor, George was cutting back his duties in order to battle cancer.

I did have numerous opportunities to visit with George over the summer and fall. He would come in to visit, to talk sports. I would ask him how he was doing, and despite the dire circumstances, George was always positive. He would tell me he was doing better and that he hoped he could come back and cover sports "real soon."

I was always struck by how positive George was, how he genuinely cared about the athletic programs. Often-times he would ask how the teams or players were doing, or would pass along information for possible stories he had heard through his travels.

You could see that George cared about the student-athletes in Moore County.

And they cared about him, too.

Rarely did a week go by that someone, somewhere in Moore County. didn't ask me about George. They knew of his situation and were hoping to hear good news. Well, the best news that I can tell them is that George is with God, and we were all blessed to have him in our lives.

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2477 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.