Paul Eugene “Gene” Chambers

Paul Eugene “Gene” Chambers, 80, died Oct. 15, 2012, unexpectedly and peacefully as the result of a stroke. He was a vigorous man in very good health until the end of his life and always took good care of himself physically.

Gene was a wonderful husband, father and friend. He was an adventurer, explorer, traveler, hunter, fisherman, sailor, pilot who loved the outdoors and had said many times that he had had a “wonderful life,” that he had done all he had ever wanted to do. During his lifetime, he helped many people in multiple ways, never expecting anything in return. He was very honest, reliable, hard-working and talented person who could do anything he set his mind to. He was always optimistic and forward-looking.

Gene was born Nov. 19, 1931, in a humble country home on the banks of the Delaware River in the village of Equinunk, Penn., His parents, Stanley and Gertrude, now deceased, were very hospitable, as in Robert Frost’s famous poem, “A House by the Side of the Road,” where anyone could come and be welcome at any time.

Gene had two sisters and a young brother who died at age 2. His father was a teacher for many years in a one-room schoolhouse, where he would begin to stoke the fires at 4 a.m.

As a boy, Gene hunted in the woods and fished in the Delaware and other streams. He would lose himself for days in the woods. He trapped beaver to make money for school clothes. He absolutely loved hunting and fishing. After high school he joined the Merchant Marines and traveled around the world. He also was in the U.S. Army, Airborne, and appreciated his many parachute jumps.

He married a lovely girl from Binghamton, N.Y., Frances, with whom he had two children, the apples of his eyes — Thomas and Sherrie. During the 24-year marriage, Fran became a teacher and counselor while Gene became the No. 1 salesperson in the country for Equitable Life.

He and his family took much time off to travel. They were lay missionaries in New Guinea for the Catholic Church. They camped throughout Central America for two months. They spent a summer camping in Alaska, where Gene wanted to settle — and eventually did. In the late 1960s, they moved from Detroit to Snohomish, outside of Seattle. During this time they rebuilt a 65-foot, 1938 Nova Scotia schooner, the “AMICA”, during vacations spent at their home in Florida. They later spent six months at sea sailing on the AMICA with their children and friends through the Panama Canal to Seattle. A second four-month voyage was made with their children up the inside passage to Alaska. Later, although Fran and Gene divorced, they remained very close friends until the time of his death.

Later, Gene met and married a wonderful woman, Gladys, from Venezuela. They shared a very happy life and were married 27 years. They also traveled extensively throughout Venezuela, Europe and South America. They built a magnificent log home in Monroe, Wash., that was featured in homesteading articles, but which was unfortunately destroyed by fire. They then moved to Wasilla, where they built another beautiful log home.

Gladys also earned her college degree. In the meantime, Gene and Gladys got into flying and flew all over the wilderness of Alaska on hunting and fishing trips with friends. During the cold dark months, they would go to Honduras, where Gene built a beach home with a pool for his family and friends to enjoy in the winter months. Gladys and Gene were very close, like two peas in a pod. He loved her very much, as she did him.

Gene was deeply loved by his family and will be missed terribly by family and friends who knew and loved him. He was happiest when he was helping someone out or working on a project for and with those friends and family members he loved. He was a truly extraordinary person, very vibrant, full of life and ideas, who loved adventure, the wilds, discussing politics and who was just one-of-kind who will not be duplicated. He lived his life in a way that impacted and changed people, his enthusiasm, ambition and love of life served as an inspiration to others and a constant reminder that they should live each day to the fullest.

Surviving are his wife, Gladys Chambers; ex-wife and close friend, Frances Fielden Litorja; daughter, Sherrie Wilson, an accomplished Olympic athlete and sports consultant; son, Thomas Francis Chambers, an outstanding opera singer and performer; grandchildren, Natalie Ann Chambers and Jonah Gene Wilson; sister, Joyce Guy; nephews and nieces, Steve and Ramy Thoma, Ruthy and Bobby Conn, and Lori and Jeff Jones; and all his great-nephews and great-nieces.

Preceding him in death were his parents, Stanley and Gertrude Chambers; sister, Shirley Olson; and brother, Francis Chambers.

Mass of Christian burial is at 11 a.m., Oct. 23 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. A second memorial service is planned in Hancock, N.Y., followed by burial in Equinunk, Penn., where he grew up and loved.