Gene loved kids and positively affected hundreds of young lives through church ministries of driving kids to church in busses and vans and volunteering his time as a coach to little league baseball and youth football leagues for years. He also volunteered at Nazarene youth camps for many summers in Howell, Michigan. Later in life he played baseball in senior leagues and coached them for over a decade.   As a young man, Gene excelled at sports and while attending Pershing High School (class of '53) he played football and baseball and won the top football quarterback award during Detroit's all city schools championship.

Gene had a big heart and helped other people in simple and meaningful ways.  A few weeks ago he was talking about his declining health and said "I'm prayed up, prayed over and ready to go," but his family wasn't ready and we miss him terribly.  He attended Church starting in his teens at Grace Church of the Nazarene and later he attended for the remainder of his life at Bethel Church of the Nazarene.