George Allen Deleff

George Deleff was taken to Heaven where he was greeted by his Lord and Savior on July 11, 2026 at the age of 72 following a collapse at his home. He had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in August of 2025 and was quite disabled at the time of his death.

Services will be held at 11:00 am on August 17, 2026, at Faith Heights Church at 2485 Faith Lane in Grand Junction, Colorado, with military internment to follow at 1:00 pm at the VA Cemetery at 2830 Riverside Parkway in Grand Junction.

George was born in Delta, Colorado, to parents Michel and Barbara (Bergundthal) Deleff. He graduated from Delta High School in 1972 and later joined the US Navy where he excelled in electronics and radar technology. He served aboard the USS Gridley from 1975 to 1979.

After his discharge, he returned to the Delta area and attended Mesa State College on the GI Bill where he met Donna Talley, who worked in the Records Office there. Donna processed the paperwork for veterans, and there was a spark when the two met. Soon after, she looked up his class schedule and had him report to the Records Office where she asked him to be on her bowling team. They married in 1981 and would have celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary on August 8, 2026.

George was as an electronic technician for Martin Marietta on the MX Peacekeeper Missile program, and Donna worked for Lockheed on the Space Shuttle program at Vandenberg AFB in California from 1984 to 1989. George received the Martin Marietta Peacekeeper Award of Excellence during his first year with the company and was elevated to Safety Engineer. The couple then transferred to Denver where George continued with Martin Marietta at the Waterton Canyon facility from 1989 to 1994.

George and Donna moved to Delta in 1994 following the birth of their son, Michael, to raise him and his sister, Brittany (1991) in a rural community and to help care for his mother in his childhood home. There he and Donna took over the family business, Deleff Kennels, which they have owned and operated for 32 years.

One of George’s joys was the annual family vacation to Disneyland, of which there were 25. He enjoyed working on cars, especially his 1968 Porsche 912 Targa. He could fix anything that plugged in, and he was famous in the school district for his ability to repair their equipment, from overhead projectors to scoreboards. He often repaired things for free for the elderly, and he diligently cleaned in his church weekly, making the glass sparkle.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Michel and Barbara Deleff, and his half-sister, Charlotte Stroud. He is survived by his wife Donna, daughter Brittany, son Michael, and his honorary son Bret Bigham and wife Sarah. George loved his 3 grandsons Jayden, Liam, and Kyllian Bigham and their mother, Teresa Duran, of Hotchkiss. He is also survived by his niece Barbara (Stroud) and husband Ryan Thrush of Montrose.

In lieu of flowers, A GoFundMe account has been established for the Deleff family.

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Taylor Funeral Service and Crematory.

View the Internet Obituary and sign the online guest registry at:

www.taylorfuneralservice.com