George T. Engelman Jr. was born on November 11, 1919 to George Engelman (born Engelmann) and Helen Wood in Granite City, Illinois. George Sr. worked for the American Steel Foundries at the time of his son's birth. The family moved to Sharon, Pennsylvania in 1920 and then Alliance, Ohio in 1921 when George Sr. was transferred to the plants in both locations, respectively. His parents ultimately settled in Hammond, Indiana, where they remained until George Sr. retired to Albion, IL, in 1941. George Jr. attended and graduated from Hammond High School in Hammond, IN.

Engelman enrolled at Indiana University in 1937, during which time he met and became engaged to Jane Bottdorff Wallace. During his time at IU, he was a member of Tau Kappa Alpha and a cadet sergeant in the ROTC. He graduated from IU in 1941 with his A.B. in English. After the U.S. entered WWII, he enlisted in the Army as a private, and completed Officer Candidate School as a Second Lieutenant. A long separation from Jane following his enlistment resulted in the end of their engagement. Engelman married Irene June Avery on September 5, 1943 in Webb City, Missouri.

During World War II, Engelman was posted in such places as the Pentagon (delivering secret messages to the White House), Pearl Harbor and the Philippine Islands (during the 1944 invasion) until the end of the war in 1945. Upon release, he remained in the Active Army Reserve, and moved to Albion, Illinois with his wife, then back to Bloomington in 1946 to enroll as a graduate student. His son, George "Ted" Engelman III (later spelling changed by Ted to the family name Engelmann), was born in Bloomington, IN, in January 1947. Engelman did not receive his Master's from Bloomington right away. Instead, throughout 1948-1949 he moved throughout cities in Illinois and Indiana, where he taught English and Speech in various high schools. His daughter, Martha Lou Engelman (Smith) was born in Evansville, IN, March 1949. The family returned to Bloomington in 1950, and Engelman was elected to the Bloomington City Council and taught at Bloomington High School until he was recalled to active duty at the beginning of the Korean War. In March 1951, the family followed him to Ft. Devens, Massachusetts.

In 1952, the family once again returned to Bloomington and in 1953 Engelman completed his Master's in education. He was also a professional photojournalist and public relations person for RCA while in Bloomington. In August 1957, the family left Bloomington. Engelman became the Public Relations Director and an Associate Professor for the State University of New York in Oenonta, NY. In 1964, the family moved to Johnstown, NY, where Engelman became Director of Admissions at the new Fulton-Montgomery Community College. In 1972 he left the community college to become publisher of the local weekly newspaper, The PATRIOT. He was widowed in 1993, and married his former fiancee, Jane Bottdorf in 1995. They lived in Sun City Center, FL. He retired from the army with the rank of Major. Engelman died in August 2008 at the Tampa General Hospital in Florida.