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“He was very dedicated. He was a parish priest at heart who served the people and connected with the people really well,” Bishop Ronald Fabbro, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of London, recalled Tuesday. “I’m just going to remember a good priest who loved his people and his church and his faith,” Fabbro said of how he will remember George. “He was just open to the people.” George, 52, died in hospital after the pickup he was driving collided head-on with an SUV Monday shortly before noon on Bronson Line between Pepper and MacDonald roads, Huron OPP said. Fabbro said George had been receiving cancer treatment for a number of years. “(George’s parishioners) got the clear impression that he wanted to continue to serve,” even after the diagnosis, Fabbro said. “Matthew wasn’t going to let cancer beat him,” said Rev. Tony Laforet, who worked alongside George. “He wasn’t going to let that stop him, and he never did.” In a Facebook post, the staff of Haskett Funeral Homes, who worked with George for a number of years, said he was a “fixture” in St. Boniface and St. Peter’s parishes in Zurich and St. Joseph. “Through the creation of Lake Huron Catholic Family of Parishes over this past year (Mt. Carmel, Grand Bend, Exeter, Zurich, St. Joseph, and Goderich), Father Matt has had an impact and made a difference in the lives of many more families,” Haskett staff said. George grew up in Delhi. “I think (George’s dedication) comes from his parents, they certainly were very dedicated people themselves,” Fabbro said, adding he had been a “prominent” priest in the diocese known for his outgoing personality. Fabbro recalled a story that illustrates George’s character. George came to the bishop asking to be sent on a mission. Fabbro couldn’t really spare him, but decided to give him an assignment serving a small parish in Whitehorse, which George happily fulfilled. “That was typical of his spirit,” Fabbro said. “That was his personality.” Laforet knew George from their time at St. Peter’s Seminary in London, and they got to know each other better after the formation of the family of parishes. George had a gift for remembering lines from movies, and would love to talk about what he’d recently watched, Laforet said. “He had a mind like a steel trap,” Laforet said. “We were never without conversation at dinner. We could always count on him to have a conversation.” “He had a special love for people on the margins, the poor. He was dedicated to social justice work,” Fabbro said, adding his death leaves a large gap. “He was a great guy,” Laforet said. “People loved him here, and he won’t be forgotten.” With files from Dan Rolph, the Exeter Lakeshore Times Advance