Gene died Dec. 22, 2008. A surgeon of exceptional ability, he was respected as a man of character and good humor who tenaciously pursued excellence.
Raised in Mississippi, Gene attended Culver Military Academy. At Princeton, he majored in biology and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was a member of the Skeet Club, Whig-Clio, and Elm Club.
Gene graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1954. After three years of surgical residency, the Army beckoned. As a captain in Korea, he was chief of surgery for the 44th MASH unit. Completing his residency in 1961 at Massachusetts General, he joined the department of surgery at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. He served there for 38 years. He was president of the Memphis Surgical Society and the Southern Surgeons Club.
Gene was an inventor who held patents for a heated stethoscope, a golf-putting training device, and an antifreeze detector. He loved refurbishing antique cars.
He was a longtime member and three-term senior warden of Calvary Episcopal Church. His community involvement included the Rotary Club and the English-Speaking Union, which he served as a national board member and as Memphis branch president
Our condolences go to Gloria, his wife of 47 years; his two daughters; and five grandchildren.