China Science

Charles Eugene “Gene” Mear died Sept. 18, 2007, at the age of 80 years after battling Parkinson’s disease for the last few years. A productive, successful by any measure, petroleum and minerals geologist and geosciences manager, Gene had a lifetime full of accomplishments, honors, friends and a rich family life. Gene went far in life coming from a modest background. He had to live much of his early life in a tent with his mother and stepfather as they followed work around during the depression. Later his parents settled in the country hollows of Leakey, Texas, where he learned to hunt and fish in the beautiful forested hills and valleys. He attended school in Leakey and Sabinal. An excellent student, he graduated valedictorian of his high school class.

A. Darryl James