George A. Gebelein, former director of alumni relations at McDonogh School who later designed, coordinated and expanded the Owings Mills private school's stewardship program, died Monday of pneumonia at Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie.

The Glen Burnie resident was 72.

"George was probably one of the most beloved people at McDonogh. And as director of alumni relations, he touched the lives of so many and got people to connect and reconnect to the school. He just loved people," said Barry Rollins, director of gift planning at McDonogh, who worked closely with Mr. Gebelein.

"If one said his wealth would be measured by what he gives, then George would be a billionaire," said Mr. Rollins. "He was all about relationships."

The son of Andrew Gebelein, an upholsterer, and Rosa Gebelein, a homemaker, George Andrew Gebelein was born in Baltimore and raised in Waverly.

After graduating from McDonogh in 1960, he earned a bachelor's degree in physics with a minor in mathematics at what is now McDaniel College, where he was also enrolled in the ROTC program.

Mr. Gebelein served in the Army Signal Corps as a radio communications specialist in Ethiopia for two years until being discharged in 1966. He remained an active reservist and attained the rank of captain.

After leaving the Army, he took a job with the old Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. He later held management positions with successor companies Bell Atlantic, Lucent Technologies and Verizon, retiring in 2000.

While working in the telecommunications industry, Mr. Gebelein earned a master's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.

He returned to McDonogh in 2003 when he was named director of alumni relations. Four years later, he "stepped into a newly created part-time position designed to coordinate and expand McDonogh's stewardship program," Headmaster Charles W. Britton said in remarks delivered when Mr. Gebelein retired this year.

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George A. Gebelein, McDonogh alumni director