Obituary of Gene William Trask

Gene William Trask was born in the Manette community of Bremerton Washington on April 5, 1936. He was the younger of two children born to Gill Lowery and Rose Justice. He was raised by his Aunt and Uncle, Elmer Trask and Edna Belle Justice Trask who he thought of as his parents, they had an older daughter Gloria Trask Carr who he always thought of as his oldest sister. They lived in the Beacon Hill area of Seattle. His little sister was “Calamity” Jane “Scottie” Trask. He attended school and when he was 17, he signed up for the National Guard. He was married for a very short time. When he was 25, he met Donna Ealy who was working in a diner in Auburn, Washington. They were married in 1961. Gene worked at Lockheed and Todd Shipyards. Together they had their only daughter Rachelle Renee Trask who was born on December 3, 1961 in Seattle. He enjoyed riding motorcycles and had many friends who had Harleys and they were good friends. His friends “Seattle Don” and “Jungle Jim” were always around with Gene and his family. He worked as a pipe fitter and welder in the Boilermakers Union on the Seattle waterfront. In 1966, he was severely injured in an industrial accident that injured his arm and scraped him up a lot. A week after he got out of the hospital he was back at work. He lived in Seattle for 6 years. Then he and Donna, and their daughter lived in Yakima for a short time then returned to the Seattle area. A few years later Gene opened a barbershop in White Center. Gene and Donna separated and divorced each other in 1983. Their daughter Rachelle attended Cleveland HS in Seattle. Their daughter Rachelle and Roger Burnett were married for a short time and they had a son Michael Gene Burnett who was born on December 31, 1980. In 1985, Gene was married to Melanie they lived in Burien. On New Years Eve, 1986, Melanie died while visiting relatives in Pennsylvania. Rachelle had a second son Eric Joseph Gardner II who was born on April 30, 1983. Her third son, Alex Scott Burnett was born on August 24, 1988. Four years ago, Rachelle and Alex rode the Greyhound Bus to visit Gene in Pennsylvania. Rachelle married William Hicks on June 20, 1989. Their son William Hicks Jr. was born on May 16, 1990. In July, 2004, Gene returned to the Seattle area and lived with Rachelle and William and their sons in Renton. About a year ago, the family moved to their home on Cushman Court in Tacoma. Gene enjoyed Prancer their miniature Dachshund. He gave the dog wieners and treats all the time. Several years ago, he had a stroke and a heart attack and developed congestive heart failure while he was in Pennsylvania. During the past year, his health began to slip. Just after Christmas, he came down with pneumonia and was diagnosed with lung cancer. During the past few months, hospice care nurses came every week to check on his health concerns. During the last few days, Gene slipped into the closing of his life and died peacefully at his home on Thursday evening, July 13, 2006. Gene was an active person and enjoyed being busy and going places. He was generous to his family and friends. He was friendly and outgoing making conversations with anyone he met. He enjoyed his grandsons and his family. He never wanted to hurt his family or embarrass anyone with his character and actions. He was pleased to be at home with his daughter and her family. Even with his disabilities and difficulties throughout his life, he was a caring father and grandfather. He made a great effort to makeup for some lost years with his family. He will be remembered and loved by his daughter Rachelle and her husband “T.” And by His grand sons Michael, Eric, Alex, and William. His sister Calamity Jane and his other relatives and his many friends will also miss him. Viewing was held 2-4 pm Wednesday, July 19, 2006 at Edwards Memorial Center 3005 Bridgeport Way W., University Place, WA 98466 with a small service at 3:00 PM. Arrangements by Edwards Memorial Center 253-566-1008