Gene T. Skrivan's Obituary
Gene T. Skrivan (77) went to be with the Lord on February 11, 2006. He is survived by his wife, Lillie, of 57 years, and their four children: Patricia Purvis of Temecula, CA, Michael Skrivan of Durham, NC, Timothy Skrivan of Tacoma, WA and Douglas Skrivan of Lakewood, WA. He leaves 11 grandchildren behind.Gene was a veteran of WWII and the Korean conflict, and was very proud of serving his country. He was active in the wood products industry his entire life, starting as a boy helping out in his fatherÂ's lumber yard in Tilden, Nebraska. Among GeneÂ's many volunteer activities, he served with United Way, Youth For Christ and as a treasurer and elder of Lake City Community Church. Gene spent the first half of his life as a hard driving businessman whose goals were to succeed and provide well for his family. At age 42 he changed course dramatically after placing his trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior. A transformation began in him that continued throughout the rest of his life. Retirement brought opportunities for more radical changes in Gene, as he focused on his inner life in a new way and became a softer, gentler father and grandfather. He was committed to the welfare of his family and members of his local church in a tangible way. He had a special heart for helping people who were working on their sobriety.Gene even traveled with his adventuresome wife Lillie, despite his own lack of enthusiasm for travel and adventure. They climbed the Great Wall of China in November of 2000 and visited Spain and Portugal in 2004. They had a wonderful family reunion with LillieÂ's family in Tennessee last fall. Their daughter Patricia, son Mike, daughter-in-law Nancy and grandson Thomas were with them at that reunion.The family and friends of Gene will always remember him as one who modeled that a person can continue growing throughout his entire life. Â"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding,Â" was an especially challenging Scripture and a battleground of sorts for GeneÂ's Christian maturity.Gene spent the last two years writing two different books with great enthusiasm. The first book was on staying active and finishing well during retirement and the second one was about spiritual gifts and Christian maturity. God gave Gene the time he needed to finish both books, although he had not identified a publisher for his books at the time of his death.Gene had surgery last fall, but his sudden death did not appear to be related to the surgery. As one friend observed, Â"It seemed like God just jerked him into heaven.Â"Public visitation will be held Thursday February 16 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Mountain View Memorial Park on Steilacoom Blvd in Lakewood. GeneÂ's friends are invited to a memorial service at 2 p.m. Friday, February 17 at Lake City Community Church, 8810 Lawndale Ave. S.W., Lakewood, WA. 253-582-8040, www.lc3.com. At the request of the family, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the building fund at Lake City Community Church.
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