EUGENE MERTES

MERTES
EUGENE R.
On February 22, 2011. Beloved spouse of 63 years of Marilyn J. Mertes; father of Douglas A. Mertes, Robin G. Kate Mertes, and the late Dale E. Mertes; father-in-law of Wallis Maria Mertes; grandfather of Katherine Mertes Schwartz and Ira Mertes; grandfather-in-law of David Schwartz. He is survived by brothers Jack Mertes and Nick Mertes, and a sister, Ida Rose Eleck. Gene was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 10, 1927. He enlisted in the Navy in 1944, at the age of 17, and served in the Pacific theater in World War II. On his return from the Navy Gene started college at Case-Western Reserve, took a full-time job for American Steel and Wire, a subsidiary of United States Steel (USX), became a lifelong devotee of the then newly-established Cleveland Browns, and in 1948 married a co-worker, Marilyn Jean Austin of Cloverton, Minnesota. Gene moved his family to Pittsburgh, PA in 1964, when USX transferred its corporate headquarters from Cleveland. He landed in the chemicals division and for many years was a major player in the international chemicals business, working with colleagues in Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, China, India, Iran, and Israel. He was involved in the spinoff of the chemicals division as a separate company, Aristech. Gene retired in 1990 and devoted himself to his garden and especially his chrysanthemums. He grew chrysanthemums competitively from 1955 until his death, and served in numerous official positions in the National Chrysanthemum Society, and its chapters in Pittsburgh and Virginia, as well as maintaining his status as a master judge. The cultivar "Gene Mertes," first available commercially in 2003, is named for him. Gene and Marilyn moved to Gainesville, Virginia in 2000 and spent many happy years in the Heritage Hunt community before their move to Greenspring, a retirement community, two years ago. Friends are invited to attend his wake at FAIRFAX MEMORIAL FUNERAL HOME, 9902 Braddock Road, Fairfax, VA on Thursday, February 24, from 3-7 p.m. The funeral mass will be held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 8213 Linton Hall Road, Gainesville, VA on Friday, February 25, at 10 a.m., and the burial service will be at St. Mary's Cemetery, Burke, VA, Fairfax Station Road and Rte 123, Fairfax Station, VA, at 3 p.m. the same day. Donations may be made in Gene's name to the American Diabetes Association, 1025 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 1005, Washington DC, 20036.
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