Eugene Mayleben, of Dayton, formerly of Washington Township died peacefully with his family at his side on June 4, 2021. Gene is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marlene Heinz Mayleben, his beloved daughter, Victoria Mayleben Duricky (Jeff) and grandsons Tyler and Cole Duricky of Mentor, Ohio. He is predeceased by his parents Eugene and Francis Wibbels Mayleben and his only sibling Judith Mayleben Dwyer of Cincinnati. Other survivors include nephews Timothy and Andrew Dwyer (and family) and relatives in Germany including sister-in-law Annemarie Heinz-Cartus, brother-in-law Edmund Heinz and sister-in-law Gerta Schmitz Heinz and their families.
Gene was born in 1933 and grew up in Cincinnati on a small farm in the suburbs. He attended Purcell High School and graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1955 with a degree in electrical engineering. He left home to work as a field engineer for Hazeltine electronics, a manufacturer of military communication and radar equipment in Long Island, New York. Gene traveled for 6 years to military bases all over the U.S. in support of Hazeltine equipment and then for 3 more years in Germany. There he met the beautiful young Marlene Heinz. Despite the language barrier, they fell in love, married and moved to Cincinnati in 1964. For the next 33 years, Gene was employed as an Air Force civilian engineer - 5 years in Wiesbaden, Germany and 28 years at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton at the Avionics Laboratory. His work as a researcher in the Electronic Warfare Anechoic Chamber was the most challenging, yet exciting and rewarding work he had ever experienced. From 1971 on, Gene and Marlene lived in Centerville and Washington Township and were active members of Incarnation Catholic Church. Their beautiful daughter Victoria was born in 1973 and has continued to delight them ever since, especially when she and her husband Jeff, provided them with two handsome, healthy grandsons. After retirement in 1997, Gene returned to the University of Cincinnati and earned a Master of Arts degree in German Language and Literature for fun. Gene loved being outside, splitting wood and tending to the magnificent woodland gardens he and Marlene created together. He also loved genealogy and did extensive research on his family ancestry up to 6 generations back. Putting together the official records with personal letters, diaries, photographs and his own memories, he created a fascinating family narrative spanning hundreds of years. He expressed hope that it would help his grandsons and maybe future generations to have some appreciation of the lives and times of their ancestors. “Opa” and his grandsons enjoyed many good times driving the tractor through the woods and trying to catch minnows in the creek as their mother had done many years ago.
Friends may call from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 9, 2021 at the Church of the Incarnation, 7415 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. Final resting place at Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum. A celebration of life following entombment at Tobias Funeral Home - Far Hills Ave. Donations in Gene’s name may be made to Alzheimer’s Association 31 W. Whipp Rd., Dayton, OH 45459 or Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Ave., Dayton OH 45420. Condolences may be sent to www.tobiasfuneralhome.com
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