Eugene “Gene” Constant Southworth, 84

Eugene “Gene” Constant Southworth, 84, of Hendersonville went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at Pardee Hospital after a long illness. He was born March 1, 1932 in Agawam, MA to the late Eugene E. and Hazel Smith Chapin Southworth. He is also preceded in death by two brothers, Robert Ellis Southworth in 2013 and Richard Chapin Southworth in 2015.
Gene was a graduate of Agawam High School and Western New England University. He also attended American International College in Springfield, MA and Northeastern College in Boston, MA. During his working years, he was an engineer for an insurance company, first in Springfield, MA, then transferred to VT and retired in 1991 to Ocala, FL. Gene then decided to follow a dream of being a Christian volunteer with his wife, Carol. They belonged to a group called Mobile Missionaries and Sowers, also known as Servants on Wheels Ever Ready. They did whatever was needed for the Lord for eight years, traveling in their RV to every state to Christian camps, schools, churches, and missions. They were at Word of Life Bible Institute when 9/11 occurred. Due to illness, Gene had to retire from traveling but did volunteer two times after Katrina with the church they were attending in FL, doing what he loved, reaching out to those in need. He loved carpentry and remodeled three old homes in VT, and he loved to camp, fish, and hike.
Gene served his country as Staff Sergeant in the US Army during the Korean War, eighteen months in the Philippines and twelve months in Japan. He and a group of his classmates joined the inactive Naval Reserve and had to be honorably discharged before enlisting in the US Army. Gene was a member of the Blue Lodge of Masons in VT for 45 years.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years, Carol Gwendolyn Orr Southworth; two sons, Peter Ellis Southworth and his wife, Theresa, of Ludlow, VT, and Jeffrey Allen Southworth and his wife, Raeanne, of Benson, VT; three grandsons, Bradley Stearns Southworth and his wife, Kim, and their son, Connor; Aaron Peter Southworth and his fiancé, Ashley, and Nicholas Raymond Southworth and his fiancé, Erin; two step-granddaughters, Lisa and Sarah; two step-great-grandchildren, Zoa and Theodore; and several nieces and nephews and their children.
No local services are planned. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Carpenter’s Hands Ministry at Mud Creek Baptist Church, 403 Rutledge Drive, Hendersonville, NC 28739.
Please visit www.forestlawnhendersonville.com for online condolences.
Forest Lawn Funeral Home is assisting the family.