Gene Maurice Alvine

Gene Maurice Alvine, 82, of Loveland, Colorado, passed away in Loveland on September 6th, 2026. Born on May 26, 1944, in Washington, Iowa, Gene was the son of Maurice and Luverne Alvine. He grew up on a farm northwest of Ainsworth, Iowa, where he learned the value of hard work at an early age — a lesson that shaped every chapter of his life. He was driving a tractor by six years old; his first summer job was installing a pipeline. He was fired when they discovered he was only sixteen. His paystub from that job resides proudly in his scrapbook.

Gene graduated from Ainsworth High School, earned his bachelor’s degree in math education from Iowa Wesleyan University, and later received his master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Northern Colorado. During his time at IWU, he worked on a friend’s farm driving tractors and feeding hogs. It was here his love of John Deere tractors began.

High school sweethearts Gene and Linda were married in Crawfordsville, Iowa on December 18th, 1965. They moved to Harlan, Iowa, where he taught junior high math and coached high school football, track, and middle school wrestling. In 1972, Harlan won the first-ever Iowa High School State Football Championship — a moment Gene cherished.

Daughters Denise and Shari were born in 1968 and 1969. As the family grew, he worked a variety of summer jobs to supplement his teacher’s salary including unloading lumber from railroad cars, driving semitrucks full of hogs from Harlan to Chicago, and working as a mover for Mayflower.

In 1976, he moved with his family to Loveland, Colorado where he taught math at Loveland High School and was an assistant football coach. As the defensive coordinator, his teams won State Championships in 1982 and 1985. Son Jason completed the family in 1980.

In 1986, he was named the Athletic Director and Assistant Principal at Loveland High School. He spent countless hours at the high school going to games, concerts, and even cleaning the restrooms at Ray Patterson Stadium.

In 1998, he was named the Thompson R2J District Athletic & Activities Director where he expanded his duties to cover all area high schools. There wasn’t a football game at RayPat where you didn’t find Gene in the stands or on the sidelines. In 2009, he retired from the school district, but he continued to attend football and basketball games until this year.

Gene believed every student deserved the opportunity to participate in athletics and activities, regardless of their financial circumstances. From 1992 to 2020, he coordinated fundraising efforts between Observ and Thompson R2J, organizing students and parents to work concessions at college and professional stadiums so they could earn money to cover participation fees. Through his leadership and persistence, these efforts generated hundreds of thousands of dollars, opening doors for countless students to take part in sports and activities across the district.

His favorite pastime was riding his bike. He started riding at forty-seven and rode nearly every day into his eighties. Combining his love of bikes and tractors, he completed RAGBRAI, a week-long ride across the state of Iowa, twenty-five times. He also rode the Triple Bypass, a 120 mile, 10,800 foot elevation gain cycling event from Evergreen, CO to Avon, CO, crossing three Colorado mountain passes — Juniper, Loveland, and Vail, multiple times.

Skiing was his winter passion. He loved to be on the slopes, particularly teaching others to ski. Countless friends and relatives learned to love the sport through him. He was “a front row of the parking lot, first in the lift line, eat lunch from home on the chairlift, final lift at 4:00 PM guy”, not wanting to miss a minute of time on the snow.

He was a member of the Loveland Parks and Recreation Commission from 2000 to 2018. He was also active with the Colorado Athletic Directors Association for over 30 years. Shoveling snow was also something he loved to do. He was a member of the Loveland Snow Squad for over 20 years, shoveling the walks of those who couldn’t. For the past five years, he and Linda drove for SAINT Volunteer Transportation and delivered Meals on Wheels.

He worked hard. He cared deeply. He leaves behind a legacy of students, athletes, colleagues, friends, and family who are better because he was part of their lives.

Gene is survived by his wife of 60 years Linda, daughters Denise (Rick) Chapman and Shari (Josh) Robinson and son Jason Alvine, grandchildren Cole (Kacey) Robinson, Kate Robinson, Kennedy Robinson, Hayley Chapman, Nicholas Chapman, Alexander Chapman, and Emily Chapman. He is also survived by his sister Lynne (Linda Cline) and Ceanne (Roy Schneider) Alvine, sister-in-law Mary Fabian, brothers-in-law Don Lowe and Larry (Tammy) Lowe as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and their children. He was predeceased by his parents, sister Diane (John) Thompson, sisters-in-law Phyllis (Lee) Eisele and Carla Lowe, and brothers-in-law Lee Eisele and John Thompson.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the Loveland High School Auditorium on Sunday, September 27th at 1:00 PM. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, the family would like to honor Gene’s legacy within the Thompson School District by directing gifts to: Scheer Student Opportunity Fund, Thompson Education Association, 800 S Taft Ave, Loveland, CO 80537.