Gene Sizemore

1932 - 2012

Gene Sizemore, 80, died Sunday, July 8, 2012, in Fort Worth. Service: A celebration of Gene's life is planned for October. Gene was born in Dallas on May 11, 1932, to Oscar Franklin and Lucile Smith Sizemore. He attended schools in Dallas, Kansas City, Mo., and Summit, Ark. At 19 he joined the U.S. Navy and served during the Korean War aboard the USS Helena (CA-75) and at Kodiak, Alaska. During a 40-year career in commercial printing/lithography, he worked in Kansas City, Mo., at Rigby Printing; in Dallas at Jarvis Press, Taylor Publishing, The Dorsey Co., Williamson Printing, Padgett Printing and Steck-Warlick; at American Printing and Litho; and in Fort Worth at Motheral Printing and Sprint Press. In 1997 he retired from Authentic Press in Arlington. His hobbies included carpentry, classic car restoration, and hiking in the Ozarks, the Rocky Mountains, England, Canada and Mexico. In rural Johnson County where he lived, he was active in neighborhood improvement. He designed and built his own home and could fix anything from a mantel clock to his 1987 Toyota Supra Turbo. Gene was preceded in death by his half brothers, Lawrence, Marvin, Roy and Glen Sizemore; half sister, Lois Cameron; and son, Paul Eugene Sizemore. Survivors: Half sister, Dorothy Wilson; many nieces, nephews and cousins; and his dearly loved wife of 31 years, Deborah Lightfoot Sizemore, for whom he will forever be the strongest, most intelligent and resourceful man she has ever known.