Who is George from Earth Abides and what is their importance?

George is a carpenter who survived. Ish describes George as a plodding person and notes that you can hear a pause in his thinking even before he says anything. It's George who keeps the houses in good repair and can fix almost anything. George was originally an acquaintance of Ezra's. It's not until Ezra returns to Ish and Em that George and the woman he's taken as a wife, Muriel, join them.