Eugene Gene Barnes

He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1915 to Violet and Edward Barnes, the third of four children. In 1940 he married Nellie Wicknenko and they spent the next 65 years together.

Gene and Nellie had three children. In 1943, with the war accelerating, and Boeing looking for workers, Gene and Nellie moved the family to Renton, Washington where he took a job as a tool grinder. In 1945 Gene went to work for L & H Printing Co. and started training as a bookbinder, ultimately working up to production manager. In 1980, after thirty-five years of service, he retired.

Shortly thereafter, he began a second career as a substitute bus driver for the Renton School District. He retired for the second time in 1992. At his retirement, he was given an accommodation by the District for the special and unique way he treated the students that rode his bus. It was clear that the job and the driver were perfectly matched.

Gene was a faithful member of St. Anthony’s Parish in Renton for many years, and his Catholic faith was a mainstay in how he lived his life.

Gene loved to sing, and for many years sang in a number of church choirs. He also loved fishing, bowling, cribbage, and especially traveling around the country with Nellie in their RV.

Gene was preceded in death by his wife, Nellie, in 2006, and his son, Jim in 2007. He is survived by daughters Mary Gene Kiley (Jack) of Olympia, and Janet Flaherty (Michael) of Kirkland, eight grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren.

Gene’s love forever surrounded his children and grandchildren, and he was always in someone’s debt because he knew how to fix anything, taking great pride in answering any call for help, which frequently came from his sons-in-law. No call was beneath his response and no request above his many talents.

The final days his sharp wit and sense of humor were never compromised, and the enjoyment he gave his family continued unabated, even as his health began to fail. Gene will be remembered for his positive attitude, a happy smile that never changed, and for the love that he freely gave to everyone in his life.

A Mass of Celebration will be held at St Anthony’s Church at 10:00 am on January 23, 2015.

Memorials may be made to the Providence Hospice of Seattle Foundation, 425 Pontius Ave. N., Suite 300, Seattle, Wa. 98109