Eugene M. Summers

Eugene (Gene) Summers passed away at Poudre Valley Hospital in Ft. Collins on October 25, 2025. Gene was born in Forrest City, Arkansas on June 28. 1959. He grew up in Forrest City and Memphis, TN. Gene was the second youngest of seven children. His father died when he was five, and he and his siblings were raised by his single mother, Odener Barksdale. He spent summers with his grandparents, Nathan and Mary Summerville in Arkansas.

According to his siblings, Gene was always a mini-social worker, with a kind, compassionate heart and a willingness to help everyone. At the age of 5 he got a job at a beauty salon across the street from where he lived as a “gopher”, bringing the ladies sodas, coffee, etc. and running small errands at the pharmacy on the corner. He worked there until he graduated from high school at 17. Through those connections, he was able to obtain food and clothing for his family when his mother was ill or out of work.

He completed High School at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis and got his Associates Degree at Rush College in Mississippi. He completed his BS Degree in Communications and spent the next two years working at Boy’s Ranch in Ohio, helping homeless boys as a mentor, coach, and teacher. Following this experience, he returned to Memphis and earned his Master’s Degree in social work at Memphis State University.

While living in Memphis, Gene became a convert to Catholicism at age 12 and was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. He was a member of CYO and served his community in many capacities.

He moved to Denver in 2000 and worked as a social worker in the Denver Public Schools until his retirement. He met his wife, Shari, who was an AP English teacher, and they married in 1995. She had four grown children, all of whom Gene loved dearly. Gene and Shari were members of St. Dominic Catholic Church, where they both sang in the choir, and served on Parish Council for many years. Gene also sang for many weddings and funerals and in Martin Luther King Day Tributes at the Lakewood Cultural Center. Gene and Shari were blessed to have summers off, and they both loved traveling, so over 5 years, they traveled to all 50 of the United States, and 14 foreign countries. They also hosted many short-term and year-long foreign exchange students as well as two foreign exchange teachers.

Shari and Gene adopted a 16-year-old son, John on April 23, 2001. They lost their youngest daughter, Kiley on August 18, 2012 to cancer, and their daughter-in-law Sandy and granddaughter Izzabella in a car accident on March 16, 2017. Gene also lost his brother, Douglas in 1997 and his mother on April 3, 2018.

The family lived in Lakewood, CO until 2021, when Gene and Shari both retired. Since most of their children were living out of town by that time, Gene and Shari decided to leave the noise and traffic in Denver and seek a quieter place where they could spend their retirement years together. They spent six months traveling around Northern Arizona, the Ozark Mts. In Arkansas, Wyoming, New Mexico and Colorado before they finally found their forever home in Wray, CO, where they move in July of 2022. They are members of St. Andrew Catholic Parish and came to love this beautiful community of Wray. For the past 10 years of his life, Gene was a volunteer for Kairos Prison Ministry International, helping to put on events both inside prisons (for inmates) and outside prison (for their families).

He is survived by his wife Shari, his children Sean, Katie, Scott and John, his brothers Norman, Fred, Carl, Joseph, his sister Loraine and his beloved Aunt Armour. He is also survived by ten grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren, and numerous well-loved “bonus children”, nieces, nephews cousins, and beloved friends. Gene will be remembered by his many friends and family as the man with wonderful hugs, an amazing singing voice, a heart so big it encompassed everyone he met, and a deep and abiding love for his family. He will be buried next to his daughter, daughter-in-law and granddaughter at Crown Hill Cemetery in Denver.

His funeral Mass will be held at St. Dominic Catholic Church in Denver located at 2905 Federal Blvd, Denver, CO 80211 on Saturday, November 15th with a Rosary at 9:30AM with Funeral Mass to begin at 10 AM. The graveside committal at Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery will begin at 12PM with a celebration of life reception to follow immediately after at St. Dominic Catholic Church.