Eugene Picquet Obituary
Eugene ÿGeneÿ Newman Picquet, age 77, passed away at the family home in Bishop, Texas on Tuesday, May 7, 2002. Gene was born in Memphis, Tennessee on June 29, 1924 to James Maria and Sylvia Beck Picquet. An older brother, James Xavier, preceded him in death. The Picquets moved from Memphis back to Sainte Marie, Illinois in Gene's early childhood. Sainte Marie is a town founded by 20 French families (including the Picquet family) from Haguenau in the province of Alsace, Lorraine, France. The Colony des les Freres was led by 19 year old James Picquet, brother to Xavier Picquet who was paternal. Gene Picquet attended the parochial schools of Sainte Marie, Illinois. Following in the tracks of his older brother Jim, Gene enlisted in the Navy on June 30, 1941. After finishing Great Lakes boot camp, he opted for the naval air training thinking he'd join his brother at Pensacola, Florida. Instead, he was stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas. Shortly, in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the naval air station in Kingsville was completed. When the base personnel were sent to Kingsville,Texas from Corpus Christi, Gene Picquet became a plank owner in the commissioning ceremonies. Shortly thereafter, he met his bride to be, Jimmie Ruth Ross of Bishop, Texas. From the Summer of ÿ1942 (when 18 year old Gene and 15 year old Jimmie Ruth were introduced), until January 1944 he served as a member of the original crew of the ÿJeepÿ carrier ÿPetrof Bayÿ, participating in 13 major battles from the Solomon and Marshall Islands to the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. He was the lead ordinance man in charge of bombs, torpedoes, and depth charges, and participated as a tail gunner aboard TBM Avengers in dogfights against the Kamikazis . Returning from the Pacific theatre on the day the first atomic bomb was dropped, the young sweethearts married in Austin on August 22, 1945. Gene Picquet is survived by his wife of 56 years, Jimmie Ruth Ross Picquet of Bishop; three sons, Dr. Jim Picquet and his wife, Natalie, of Irving, Texas, Glenn Picquet and his wife, Brenda, of Albany, Texas, and Bill Picquet and his wife, Jessie, of Houston, Texas; a sister, Martha Ruth Logan of Sainte Marie, Illinois; seven grandchildren, James (Becky), Blake (Natalie), Michelle and Robin, Jennifer (Jose), Brandi and Julie; and one great-grandson, James Ross. He was preceded in death by a brother, Jim, and a son, Richard. Picquet farmed in the Bishop area and also worked as a mechanic from 1945 to 1994. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 A.M. Friday, May 10, 2002 at St. Gertrude's Catholic Church, Kingsville, Texas with Fr. Paul Hesse as celebrant. Burial will follow in Kingsville at Chamberlain Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Bishop Renovation Fund in care of Coastal Bend Community Foundation, 600 Leopard St., Corpus Christi, TX 78401.
Published by Corpus-Christi Caller-Times on May 10, 2002.