Sidney Eugene (Gene) Pool

A memorial for the life of Sidney Eugene "Gene" Pool, 102, of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, will be celebrated on Saturday, November 16, 2019, at 10:00 AM in the Wheeler Mortuary Chapel. Following the service, the burial will be at Causey Cemetery followed by lunch at Causey Community Center from12:00-4:00 PM, kindly hosted by the Causey Women’s Club.

Gene was born in Duke, Oklahoma on May 10, 1917 to William Sidney and Clara Julia Hudson Pool. Gene grew up in Levelland, Texas and attended Montezuma Baptist College. Gene met and married Helen Clifton in Lingo, New Mexico in1940 and was employed with the Bureau of Land Management in Gallup, New Mexico. He served in the Air Force in World War 2, stationed at Howard Air Base in Panama, USA. Gene was a high clearance Morse Code Decoder, and deciphered top-secret military messages between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. Following his service in the military, Gene joined his father-in-law Walter "Slim" Clifton in business with the Clifton Cattle Company in Portales. He then moved to Lingo in 1951, where he farmed until his wife Helen’s death in 1999. In 2001, Gene met and married Chiyoko Watanabe and moved to Sacramento, California. Upon retirement Gene and Chiyoko moved to Omaha, Nebraska and then to Cold Spring, Kentucky. 

Gene was an enthusiastic ham radio operator, photographer and pilot. He enjoyed time with his family, church and community. Gene was a deacon of Lingo Baptist Church, while a member he traveled to other churches and led singing for revivals. He served on the Roosevelt County Rural Telephone Board, and was an active member and elder of First Baptist Church, Cold Spring, Kentucky. Gene loved cars, electronics, gadgets and computers and was an early adapter with all forms of technology. He mastered social media and loved to use Facetime and “tech talk” with his family and friends.

An avid lifetime traveler, at 5 years old Gene and his parents joined the auto camping craze and packed a tent, cots and food  and toured Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon in a Model T Ford. In the 1950’s and 60’s Gene transported Helen and their three boys to destinations throughout the United States in his newest automobile or in his Cessna airplane. At the age of 86, he traveled with his wife Chiyoko via commercial air and the high speed Shinkansen bullet train to Sendai, Japan to visit family and meet his father-in-law, narrowly missing the Hokkaido earthquake and tsunami of 2003. Gene was always alert, curious, mentally sharp and interested in history and current events. Gene and his children toured the Ark Encounter: Life-size Noah’s Ark for his 100th and 102nd birthdays.

Most of all, Gene loved the Lord, witnessing to people at every opportunity. He was a happy, loving and kind man. Gene always had a smile and a laugh for everyone. He always looked on the bright side and chose joy. He was an excellent example of a Christian for his family, dedicating his life to Christ and encouraging all to explore the beauty of the gospels.

Gene was blessed with a large and loving family. He was preceded in death by his parents, his loving wife Helen, son-in-law, Herb Hartsell, a brother Buster Pool and wife Eunice, sister Margaret and husband Tommy Phillips, and his great-granddaughter Aspen Salazar.

He is survived by his wife Chiyoko Pool of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, daughter Joyce Lynn Hartsell of Clovis, four sons, Sidney Dwight of Brownwood, Texas, Sidney Franklin and wife Fran of Amarillo, Wesley Owen and wife Saundra of Clovis, Norris Lee of Levelland, and step-daughter, Patty Goering and husband Jason of Cold Spring, Kentucky. Also surviving are 16 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, and 8 great-great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Causey Cemetery Fund c/o Jimmie Nunnally, P O Box 15, Causey, NM 88113 and the Baptist Children’s Home, P O Box 629, Portales, NM 88130, https://www.nmbch.com/give/

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