Freman Eugene “Gene” Musick was born to sharecroppers Brady Delmon Musick and Della Mae Jessee in Artrip, Virginia on November 14, 1932. Raised in a time of hardscrabble work and one room schoolhouses, Gene obtained permission from his parents to join the Navy at 17 prior to finishing high school.
Gene made the Navy a successful career. Gene served during the Korean and Vietnam War eras, spending time in the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and as a crewmember on the USS Midway as she shifted ports to San Diego. Meeting and marrying his beloved wife Hazel, together they raised two daughters – Jackie and Iris – enjoying summer trips back to visit relatives in West Virginia.
Following a 20-year Navy career, Gene went to work for the Union Tribune Newspaper as a pressman in their Mission Valley facility. Succeeding there as well, Gene rose into leadership positions and eventually retired from the UT.
Gene was a hands-on person. With an extensive home workshop, Gene could re-plumb, re-wire or rebuild just about anything. His specialty was high end furniture reupholstery, finishing many of the pieces in his families and neighbors' homes using his German machines.
Gene passed roughly 12 years after his beloved Hazel. He is survived by his younger sister Sue Dillon, his daughter Jacqueline, his grandsons Jason, Robert and Joshua, and great grandsons Braydon, Ryan and Bryce.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Tunnel to Towers Foundation in Gene's memory.
