Obituary of George S. Musser

Dr. George S. Musser, 74, died Sunday, August 15, at home. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he grew up in Richland, Washington, and resided in Houston before moving to New Jersey in January of 1966. He was employed by Exxon Research & Engineering in Linden for over 34 years, retiring as Senior Research Engineer in 1999. He was an international expert in the physics and chemistry of gasoline and co-inventor of systems to remove lead from gasoline, measure particulate pollution, and capture gasoline vapors while refueling. He worked on research projects and standards-setting with his counterparts at other oil companies and car manufacturers through the Coordinating Research Council. He managed research laboratories in Linden, N.J., in Abingdon, England, and, during the 1970s, in Tehran, Iran. George received his B.S. from the University of Colorado in Boulder and his Ph.D. from Rice University in Houston. His passion was listening to and playing classical music on his violin in his college orchestra and, after retirement, with the Summit Symphony. Throughout his life he took the opportunity to travel extensively, visiting Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. An avid Rangers and Yankee fan, he also was an accomplished self-taught handyman, completing major plumbing, electrical, and building projects. Surviving are his wife, Judith; two sons, George Jr and Bret, and their wives; a brother, John; a sister, Mary; and four grandchildren. Visitation will be on Tuesday 7-9pm and Wednesday at 10am (followed by a funeral service) at the Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory to the Friends of the Summit Symphony (100 Morris Avenue, Summit, NJ 07901) would be greatly appreciated.