Some of y’all know me but for the one’s whom doesn’t,My name is Tina and I am Gene’s baby sister.I want to thank everyone for coming to show your respect for my brother. I’m not no kind of speaker and this is very hard to do so bare with me. Gene’s service is going to be different than most services that we all have attended before but that’s what he would have wanted.Gene was a simple man and could care less if we held a service or not,And I’m sure that everyone here could all agree. We are going to play a song that our sister Ina requested “Wait a little longer,please Jesus”by Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens.  As we gather here today we are united by the love and the profound sense of loss we all feel for a man who touched our lives in a way words can hardly express.Gene wasn’t just a father,sibling,or friend but he was a bright light in our lives,A force of nature whose energy and spirit were as boundless as his capacity to love was.His laughter was a melody that played on even on the cloudiest of days.His smile was a beacon that could light up the darkest of nights,Gene had a zest for life that was infectious,a spirit that was very free he found joy in the simplest things and in doing so he taught me to appreciate those little moments that make life so beautiful.My brother was a man of humble beginnings,but he was rich in ways that cannot be measured by material things,He was rich in wisdom,kindness, and love.He was the kind of man who knew the value of hard work the importance of honesty and the strength of humility.His life wasn’t a easy journey but it was a journey he embarked on with courage and dignity.As we stand here today don’t let us just mourn the loss of my brother but celebrate the life he lived,the love he shared, and the dreams he chased.Gene was a man of extraordinary strength,of unwavering courage,he believed in the power of dreams,the strength of kindness, and the beauty of life.He was a man of many talents but I would say his greatest talent was love,He loved unconditionally,He loved with a depth that was inspiring,with a passion that was heartwarming,His love was not just a feeling but a force,a force that brought joy,comfort,and strength. I would like to play a song that he absolutely loved and then if anyone would like to come up and share a few words please feel free.    “Dinosaur” by Hank Williams Jr     I want to thank everyone for coming to show your respect to my brother and the rest of my family.As we depart here today I want us all to know that Gene would want us to make good time with the time we have left here he would want us to touch a flower,listen to the birds,or just go fishing,smell the living earth around you and don’t dwell on his passing but instead think of the day we get to reunite,Oh the wonderful conversations we will have with Gene as he shows us all the wonders he has there and we get to tell him the wonders of life we’ve had,but if we sit and mourn there will be nothing to share. “This is where the cowboy rides away” George Straight 

Gene’s celebration of life August 3,2024 at 2:00pm