In the early morning hours of Monday August 15, 2016, Gene passed away at Broadwater Health Center here in Townsend, Mt. His heart unexpectedly gave out, at the early age of 76. Sandy, his wife of 57years and his brother, Tom were at his side.
Gary Lee Hines, aka “Gene”, was born July 7th, 1940 in Grand Rapids, MN to Tom & Margaret Hines. Gene was the youngest of 6 brothers, 6 sisters, 2 half-sisters and 1 half-brother. When Gene was 3yrs old his family migrated from Ball Club, MN to Seattle, WN. He went to High School at Cleveland High until he enlisted in the Navy on 12/03/1957 and received his basic training in San Diego, CA.
On June 9th, 1956, he met Sandy Kay Thompson from Wild Rice, ND. They began their lifelong commitment on July 9th, 1956 and were married on February 28th, 1959. Gene’s first deployment was aboard the USS Midway in July of 1959, after his second tour on the Midway, he received an honorable discharge, returning to civilian life in June 1961. Gene was very much a “homebody” guy and they started a family soon after they were married. Gene & Sandy built their family around a daughter, Lori Lynn, and 2 sons, Gary Lee II and Craig William. Since both Gene and Sandy came from large close knit families, it was only natural for their lives to be filled with family gatherings. Gene enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and anything to do with the outdoors.
The Boeing Co was blessed to benefit from over 36 years of faithful service. After qualifying for Quality Control training with Boeing, Gene began serving as a QC Inspector, and finished his career as a member of the Quality Control Management team. The airplanes he helped build were a deep source of pride for Gene and he never stopped feeling a strong sense of accomplishment for his contributions. While dedicating his working career to Boeing, he received many, many awards, only one of which was “Manager of the month” and then “Manager of the year”. He was very much a part of the team that built the first 747. There wasn’t a plane built after 1965, that he wasn’t involved. Another highlight of his career, was a tour for Boeing in Romania, overseeing the setup and compliance of an outsource operation to a Romanian Aerospace firm.
Gene raised his family in Maple Valley, WN where they resided for 30 yrs. He enjoyed horses with the kids and raising all sorts of farm stock to fill his desire to be a farmer. In January 2001, he retired and moved to Ocean Shores, WN. His leisure time was filled with traveling, beachcombing, photography and installing an award winning landscape. An opportunity to move to Montana knocked on his door in June of 2007. Gene and brother Tom went to Townsend, MT. With the capable direction and craftsmanship of son Craig, they built 2 beautiful homes and Sandy joined them in October 2007. The allure of bountiful hunting and fishing gave him many hours of enjoyment, but being a part of his grandchildren’s life was his biggest reward.
A service, with military honors, celebrating Gene’s life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 20th at the Faith Baptist Church, 5 Jack Farm Road, Townsend. A reception will follow the service in the social hall of the church. Please visit below to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Gene.
Dennis and Patti Hines says
Dear family of Uncle Gene. So sorry to hear this. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Larry (Lawrence) Carivau. says
What a great friend Gene was to me Larry Carivau and our family
We went to Cleveland high school. We met at the boys club In Georgetown, Wn where we both lived back in the mid 1950. Keep in touch for many years. Miss my good old friend. I loss my my wife of 56 years back in 2019. Rip my good friend.🙏
LARRY CARIVAU says
MISS YOU GOOD OLD BUDDY.