George M. Goldman was a storyteller indifferent to the fact that he mangled the English language.

That was evident when he had a conversation about one of his favorite subjects, medical procedures, and mispronounced every one. It was obvious when he enthusiastically pointed out wild plants to fellow hikers.

Family photo (ENLARGE)

George Goldman, who lectured on conservation, gardening and wilderness survival, turned ordinary events into funny stories, even though he 'murdered the English language,' a friend says.

"George murdered the English language," said his friend Roland Clemmons of Clayton. "On the trail, he'd point out a plant and say, I don't know the Italian name — he meant Latin, of course — and would mispronounce it. He didn't have time to worry about that."

Neither did he worry when he cooked up a batch of insect cookies and tested them on unsuspecting friends. Mr. Goldman lectured on conservation, wilderness survival and edible plants found in the wild, said his stepson David Sinrich of Atlanta.

"At one point, he got interested in insects and which [ones] are edible. He baked termite cookies and ant cookies and invited his friends over to eat them. Then he'd tell them what was in the cookies. Some of his friends didn't appreciate that," Mr. Sinrich said.

The memorial service for Mr. Goldman, 78, of Atlanta is 2 p.m. Thursday at The Temple. He died at Piedmont Hospital on Monday of complications from a stroke. The body was donated to the Emory University School of Medicine.

Mr. Goldman lectured on organic gardening, too, and extolled the magic of cricket manure as a fertilizer, Mr. Sinrich said. Mr. Goldman converted bucket upon bucket of it into a cricket manure tea for his extensive garden.

"It definitely stunk the neighborhood up but would definitely get results," Mr. Sinrich said. "He would try to push buckets of the stuff on you for your own garden."

Mr. Goldman, an Atlanta native, owned a commercial real estate company and was known for his generosity. "He was the most engaging person I ever knew and the most generous and warmest," said his friend Dr. Fred Fuerst of Atlanta. "He was very charitable. He gave a lot of money away."

His stepson said, "If he saw someone in distress, he would pull over to help. Then he would have them in the back of the car, buy them lunch and the next thing you know, they're visiting us on holidays."

Boy Scouting was the genesis of many of Mr. Goldman's interests. Through Scouts —which honored him with its Silver Beaver award — and specialty camps, Mr. Goldman worked with handicapped children. His love of nature and storytelling, especially ghost stories, grew out of his Scouting experience. His favorite ghost story was "The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles," his stepson said.

Mr. Goldman told his stories at festivals and most recently at The Temple. He attended more than 30 National Storytelling Festivals in Jonesborough, Tenn. The festival promotes Featured Tellers, so Mr. Goldman and his friends formed the Featured Listeners, which has about 100 members.

"He was legendary," said his friend John Ingersoll of Atlanta. "He was irrepressible. He could turn the most ordinary event into a funny story."

"People will talk about George forever, and they will laugh, and that's good," Mr. Clemmons said.

Survivors include his wife, Joan Goldman; a daughter, Abigail Goldman of Dawsonville; another stepson, Richard Sinrich of San Francisco; a sister, Harriet Wolf of San Antonio, Texas; and a grandson.