Gene died September 22, 2015, from congestive heart failure. After moving to Idaho at an early age, he graduated from Idaho Falls H.S. as class president. He jumped at McCall during the 1954 and'55 seasons between his sophomore and junior years at the University of Idaho.

Following his graduation from Idaho he attended medical school at Washington University in St. Louis, MO., and did his internship in Oregon.

After his internship he joined the Army and was stationed in Germany. He practiced medicine in Bend, Oregon, after his stint in the Army before moving to Boise in 1970 where he was medical director of several nursing homes.