George L. Stokes was born in 1931 in Tremonton, Utah. After graduating high school, he attended Utah State Agricultural College. He married Francis Fullmer in 1952 and then entered in the U.S. Army for two years of service. He and his wife raised their family in Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, and Salt Lake City, where he worked in engineering and sales. In his spare time, he restored military vehicles and was President of Kiwanis, an active member of the local American Legion, and an organizer of the American Freedom Festival Parade Committee. He was the BYU George Q. Cannon honoree in 2005. He passed away in 2019.