George L. Zlaket was born in Santa Ana on January 29, 1927 and moved to Garden Grove at the age of six months. He attended Lincoln School, St. Boniface Catholic School and graduated from Garden Grove High School, Class of '45. George served in the U.S. Army and attended Army Finance School in Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. He was stationed at Fort MacArthur, Calif.
George married his wife, Zella "Bobbie" Malouff on May 7, 1950.
Beginning in 1950, George, Bobbie and George's brother, Leo, worked countless hours to turn a small family market in downtown Garden Grove into a thriving business. They worked day and night for years taking orders and delivering groceries with the help of their children. They saw the business grow and flourish in spite of the large Supermarket development. The success of the market was largely due to George's custom cutting the finest meat and his close relationship with his loyal customers. His customers came back to trade with him, even after moving away, until George retired in 1988.
George was very involved with his community and instrumental in the development of the downtown Garden Grove area. He was a Commander of the American Legion at the age of 25, a member of the Holy Name Society and long-time parishioner of St. Columban Catholic Church. George was the head of the Garden Grove Parking District, Secretary/Treasurer of the Garden Grove Sanitary District, Representative from Garden Grove on the Orange County Sanitary District and a member of the Main Place Pacers.
George is survived by his wife of 64 years, Bobbie; four children, Bill (& Helen) Zlaket, Jerome Zlaket, Angela Jabour, Philip (& Jill) Zlaket; nine grandchildren, five great-grandchildren; his brother, Leo Zlaket and sister, Yvonne Batista.
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 3:00 PM, Monday, June 23, 2014 at St. Columban Catholic Church, Garden Grove. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate contributions to "No Kid Hungry", www.nokidhungry.org