Eugene Claude Tripp, BHS 1948

Eugene Claude Tripp
1930 - 2018

Eugene Claude Tripp died on February 8, 2018, after spending six weeks in a Long Beach hospital valiantly trying to fight a number of different infections. He is preceded in death by his three wives, Margie Tripp, Dorothy Hester Tripp and Mavis Griffiths Tripp. He is survived by his three daughters, Jean Ancell, Jayne Tripp and Paula Tripp Victor; four grandsons, Lance and Clint Ancell and Josh and Joe Tripp; and five great-grandchildren, Daisy, Lilly, Tripptin, Reiden and Piper; and sister, May Louise Nay.

Gene (or Chub as he is fondly remembered by family and childhood friends) was born on November 17, 1930 in Lincoln, Nebraska but moved to Burbank at age 6 where he grew up. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War and then attended and proudly graduated from the University of Southern of California with a B.S. and M.S in Geology. His early years of marriage to Margie were spent in Bakersfield where he worked for Texaco exploring for oil in the Central Valley. Exploration of oil in Alaska led him to Anchorage for 2 1/2 years and then back to California. Gene and Margie retired in 1996 and moved to their dream home on a hill in Morro Bay where they enjoyed their beautiful ocean view.

Gene was among the best fast-pitch softball catchers and most family vacations in the early years were spent camping between stops along the softball tournament circuit. Politics and involvement in community affairs were passions of his, later to be superseded by his commitment to his faith and local church. He was also an avid sports fan (loving his Trojans and Dodgers), enjoyed and was quite good at almost any game of cards, and loved to just get in the car and drive and see the world. Most of all, he was passionate about his family and friends and cherished moments with them, whether just watching a game together, playing a game of cribbage, canasta or Mexican train dominoes, or just being with them.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on March 10, 2018 at 11 AM at the El Morro Church of the Nazarene, located at 1480 Santa Ysabel Avenue in Los Osos. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association at https://alz.org/ or the ALS Association at www.als.org.

Published in Bakersfield Californian on Feb. 15, 2018