Mildred Anita George passed away on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. She was born on Sept. 16, 1934, in St. George, Utah, to Margaret George and Nober Zuniga. She was raised by her grandparents, Sarah “Tappie” George and Brig George on the Shivwits Reservation.
At 91 years old, Mildred was the oldest person on the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah membership rolls. As such, the PITU included a feature on Mildred last summer in the program for the 45th Restoration Gathering Pow-Wow. Her granddaughter Christen provided the information for the feature, including Mildred’s childhood memories of playing outside in the creek, climbing the mountains around the reservation, and walking with other children to Gunlock for treats. Mildred told Christen that it didn’t seem like a long walk back then but added that a few times on the walk back, they’d get tired and were thankful for the rides given to them.
Christen said that when she asked her grandmother how she felt about being the oldest enrolled member of the Tribe, Mildred laughed and said, “Terrible. I don’t know. How is it supposed to make me feel?” Then she laughed again.
Mildred said she was grateful to see her grandchildren grow up and to see great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren.
Another of her grandchildren, Jerald Kanosh, shared some of his memories of Mildred, whom he said was like a second mother to him and his brother Corey when they were growing up. He recalled the big yard she had at her home in Kanosh — and that his grandparents were the first ones on the Kanosh Reservation to have a trampoline. He said that it was just a short walk through a field to get from his house to his grandparents’ place.
“We walked through that field so much, it started to be engrooved,” he said. “I remember running on that trail all the time and going through my grandpa’s corrals, because he had horses. We had to climb through the corrals to get to the yard.”
Jerald said there were always lots of cousins around his grandparents’ house, adding that Mildred loved to cook for the grandkids and would often send them home with a full stomach, even when it was dinnertime.
“Our parents didn’t like that very much,” he joked.
Jerald said he remembered Mildred working as a lunchroom lady for the Millard County School District. His earliest recollections are when she worked at Fillmore Elementary, but she later transferred to the middle school and then high school. Jerald said he remembers this because it seemed like she moved from school to school to coincide with her grandchildren’s attendance — first following Christen from elementary to middle school and later transferring to the high school at the same time as Jerald went there.
“We were privileged to see her every day in the lunchroom,” he said.
Jerald said the cousins were also privileged to later spend time doing beading with Mildred, something that they made into a regular occurrence over the past 10 or so years.
“We started a ‘beading day with Grandma,’” he said. “It was usually on Sundays. We’d gather in Cedar and see her and bring our beads and our needles, and we would sit down at the table together and bead. She would have food, and we’d bring a side or something to drink, and we would just be there enjoying each other’s company.”
He said Mildred really got into making earrings and sewing dance regalia, which she would give away for free.
More than anything, Mildred liked being around people. She loved her family and friends and could often be found visiting with people at Tribal events. She will definitely be missed.
A traditional All Night Sing will be held for Mildred on Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Shivwits Band Gymnasium on the Shivwits Reservation. The sing will start at 7 p.m. and be preceded by dinner at 5 p.m.
A funeral service will be held at the Kanosh LDS Church on Saturday, Jan. 10, with a viewing from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and the service at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at the Kanosh Reservation Cemetery. A luncheon will be provided at the LDS Church by the Kanosh Relief Society.