Eugene F. Layman Jr.

Gene Layman, 86, died at home on October 8, 2011. He lived in Charlotte for 65 years. He was born on November 23, 1924 in Newnan, Georgia, the only child of Mary Hunt and Eugene F. Layman, Sr. He attended Hargrave Military Academy and Georgia Military Academy, and after serving as a Navy pilot, he married Sara Ann Richardson in Charlotte on November 15, 1946 and graduated in 1950 from UNC-CH. He was employed by Ford Motor Company for 40 years as Ford’s District Fleet and Leasing Sales Manager and retired in 1990.

In retirement, Gene was very active in the life of Saint Ann Catholic Church, serving as president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, delivering communion to the sick and homebound every Saturday, and working as an untiring advocate for the elderly in nursing homes.

He enjoyed golf and was passionate about the Carolina Tar Heels. Gene learned to master the computer, which helped him keep in touch with his ever-growing family and his many friends. It usually meant sharing his latest joke.

He is survived by his wife, Ann, of 64 years; their seven children, (all but one living in Charlotte); twenty-two grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. His children: Eugene Freed Layman, III (Terry), his wife Ellen Fiske of Teaneck, NJ and their daughter, Allison; Chris and his children Shannon, Christopher and Beth with great-grandchildren Alex, Jason, and Ryan. Margaret Fontaine, her husband, Ray and their three children, Michael and his wife Lara, Nick, and Adrienne; Randy, his wife, Susan Thrower, and their children, Stephen and Matthew; Pat Taft and her husband, Ken and their daughters, Garrett and Deborah; Jane Pickhardt and her husband, Tom and their seven children: Joseph, Sarah, Emily, Mary, Annie, Claire, and PJ; Cathy Bortz, her husband, Scott, and their four children, Cooper, Addison, Adelle, and Hayes.

A remembrance service will be held at Harry and Bryant Funeral Company, 500 Providence Road, on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. followed by a visitation until 9:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Ann Catholic Church on Park Road.

In lieu of flowers, please send your donations to St. Ann Catholic Church, 3635 Park Road Charlotte, NC 28209.