Eugene Hunter Dryden

July 5, 1933 – December 31, 2019

Eugene Dryden, devoted husband, loving father and grandfather, wonderful friend, and a symbol of his beloved San Marino, passed away on New Year’s Eve at the age of 86, due to complications from a stroke he suffered two years earlier.

Gene, a third generation Californian, was born in Pasadena to Elise and Harold Dryden and lived in San Marino from the age of three with his younger brother Wayne. Gene attended Valentine School, where his mom was PTA President, Huntington Middle School and South Pasadena Junior and Senior High Schools. He graduated from Caltech with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering, and he was elected to Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Academic Honor Society. A member of San Marino Community Church since 1948, he attended its youth group where in 1955 he met the love of his life, Elizabeth Ann Everheart of Sherman Texas. Ann and Gene were married in 1956, and after a two-year stint in the Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, Gene and Ann settled in San Marino where they would raise their children Laurie and Jim.

Gene’s career in electrical engineering started at Aerojet General/Northrup Grumman in Azusa in 1958. He became a manager of Advanced Programs, helping develop Electro-Optical Sensor systems for the United States Department of Defense. Amongst his many accomplishments, he represented the United States’ interests at NATO, tasked with verifying conventional missile disarmament under the START Treaty. Upon his retirement in 2005 after 47 years, Northrup Grumman dedicated the Dryden Engineering Building in his honor.

His passion for and devotion to the community of San Marino was endless. Gene once said during a re-election campaign, “I feel I have something to give back to a city which has given me so much over my lifetime”. Gene was appointed by then-Mayor Maurice Jones, Jr. to the San Marino Planning Commission in 1979, where he served until 1988, also holding the position of Vice Chairman. He was elected to the San Marino City Council for three consecutive terms, where he served as Vice-Mayor and Mayor. Gene was Co-Chair of San Marino’s Centennial Celebration, a special honor since his father Harold Dryden had chaired the city’s 50th anniversary years before. He was asked by the San Marino Board of Education to form a committee to investigate the feasibility of restoring the Michael White Adobe, leading to the formation of Friends of the Michael White Adobe. He also chaired the campaign to rebuild and rededicate the San Marino War Memorial at Lacy Park, dedicated in 2006.

Gene was president of the San Marino Historical Society, Scoutmaster of Troup 358, a member of the Board of Directors of San Marino City Club, a Deacon, Elder, and eventually President of the Board of Trustees of San Marino Community Church. He was a member of the Old Mill Board, a member of the Gnome Club at Caltech, and a San Marino Rotarian. He was a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Award, the City of San Marino distinguished Citizen Award, the Jack Phillips Award for the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, and the State of California Senate Certificate recognition of Service to the City of San Marino. He was a ham radio operator, a trumpet player, a music lover, and an avid sailor. He loved volunteering at his children’s schools during their years in the San Marino Schools, and working at SMHS’ Grad Night was one of his favorites!

In addition to his loving wife Ann of 63 years, he leaves behind his daughter Laurie Modean (Paul) of San Marino, grandchildren Hunter and Gracie; his son Jim (Michelle) of Oak Park, and grandchildren Kathleen, Pifer, Gillian and Padraig.

He was an amazing, gentle man, a compassionate soul, and a brilliant being. It has been said “the larger the man, the larger the void”. We mourn the loss of such a great man, but his spirit and legacy will live forever.

A celebration of Gene’s life will be held on Friday, January 24th at 11:00 o’clock at the San Marino Community Church, 1750 Virginia Road, San Marino. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the San Marino Community Church Music Department, 1750 Virginia Road, San Marino, CA 91108 or the Pasadena Humane Society 361 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105.