Eugene D. Person Obituary

Eugene D. Person, 89, of Fort Dodge, passed away on Sunday, July 29, 2012 at the Fort Dodge Villa Care Center.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, August 3rd at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church with Rev. Matthew Martens officiating. Burial will be in North Lawn Cemetery with Military Rites conducted by the V.F.W. Post 1856. Visitation will be on Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home.

Gene is survived by his, wife Anne, brother Vernon of Dakota City, Iowa and five children including Mark (Maxine) of Jacksonville, FL; Sheree Pandil (Craig), of Omaha, NE; Sheila of Norman, OK; Randal (Adela) of Edinburg, TX; and Jeffrey (Nancy) of Keyser, WV; and two stepchildren, Tom Beadle (Dee) of Monticello, IA, Dan Beadle (Virginia) of Gold Canyon, AZ and 57 grand and great grandchildren.

Eugene D. Person was born on March 17, 1923 near Burnside, Iowa. Gene grew up during the Depression, and spent his time hunting, fishing and working on his dad's farm. He graduated from Gowrie High School in 1941 and continued working on his dad's farm until he enlisted in the US Army Air force in 1943. Trained as a flight engineer, Gene flew missions over Germany in a B-24 Liberator and was honorably discharged from service in 1946 when he married Naomi Johnson. Naomi and Gene raised five children in Fort Dodge where Gene was employed by George A. Hormel and Company. Gene and Naomi also owned and operated Fort Dodge Lawnmower Service and Devil Rapids Camps in Saskatchewan Canada. Naomi passed away in 1972. In 1974 Gene married Anne Beadle. Upon retirement from Hormel, Gene and Anne spent a great deal of time organizing and participating in the Iowa Chapter of the 8th Air Force Historical Society, in honor of the 350,000 men and women who served in the 8th Air Force during WWII. Gene was also finance chairman for the memorial, Iowa World War II Freedom Flame located on the State Capital Grounds in Des Moines. At age 85, Gene wrote a book entitled "Gene Person Story: Surviving The Horse & Buggy Days, Great Depression, WW II, & Technology" chronicling these and other events in his life. Throughout his life Gene continued to serve his community in various positions; including founding the Svenska Klubben, "The Swedish Club", in 1976, and also pursuing his love of fishing and hunting with friends and family. His faith in God and our Lord Jesus compelled his service to his church, Grace Lutheran in unison with his other activities. His sense of humor and work ethic will always serve as a model for all that knew him in this life.

Memorials may be left to the discretion of the family.