Eugene F. "Gene" Lavin

1932 - 2021

Eugene F. "Gene" Lavin

Of Wauwatosa, formerly of Delafied was born to eternal life on July 27, 2021 after 12 years of dementia turning into Alzheimers. Gene was born on March 11, 1932, the son of Luke and Hannah (Croke) Lavin in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Winona, MN in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics. After college, Gene proudly served in the 1st Cavalry Division of the U.S. Army in the Korean War. He met his beloved Gwendolyn "Gwen" on Nov. 2, 1957 and knew immediately that she would be his forever love and partner in life. They married on Dec. 27, 1958. They survived raising six amazing sons and he loved being their little league coach. His very successful career took off in Detroit, where he worked for Liberty Mutual Insurance as a salesman of Workman's Comp Insurance and then was promoted to Sales Manager of Industrial Insurance in 1964 in Milwaukee. In 1967, Gene became a financial consultant for Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis for ten years. In 1977, he worked for Robert Baird and went to Shearson Loeb Rhoades (which became Smith Barney) in 1980 until his retirement in 2002. While working at Smith Barney, Gene taught at U W Waukesha- Continuing Education for Adults. Gwen worked alongside of him, assisting him in his last 13 years of his career, specializing in retirement planning. In his retirement, he and Gwen enjoyed a lot of traveling; including four trips to Ireland and two trips to Italy where family homesteads still existed. They treasured their two mission trips to the sister parish in Peru, where Gene was able to entertain the children with his magic tricks. Fr. Joe Uhen, pastor of the parish in Peru said Gene will be remembered as "the most funny and sweet man alive" and that the "fondest memories will be time spent at their home on the lake". He loved reading and telling Irish jokes, but his biggest passion was his family.

Gene will be deeply missed by Gwen of 62 years; his sons, Eugene "EJ" (Paulette) of Boca Raton, FL, Mark D. (Joan) of Marietta, GA, Christopher "Chris" (Kerrie) of Boca Raton, FL, Joseph P. "Joe" of Milwaukee, Luke M. (Lauren Justus) of Greendale and Matthew J. "Matt" (Martin Linares) of Charlotte, NC; 6 grandchildren, Jessica (Forrest), Phillip (Erin), Madeleine (Cesar), Hannah, Eleanor and Luke H. and his great granddaughter, Scottie Ortiz. Further survived by other relatives and friends, especially his loyal best friend, Gordon Stuckmeyer. He is preceded in death by his parents and his sister Joanne Wills.

Visitation at St. Anthony on the Lake Catholic Church, W280 N2101 Prospect Avenue, Pewaukee, WI on Monday, August 2, 2021 9:30AM-10:45AM. Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00AM, Rev. Joseph Hornacek officiating. Burial at City of Delafield Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, masses are appreciated or memorials are appreciated to Alzheimer's Disease Research 22512 Gateway Center Dr. P.O. Box 1950 Clarksburg, MD 20871-1950 or St. Anthony On the Lake - Sister Parish In Peru W280 N2101 Prospect Ave. Pewaukee, WI 53072. (Make checks payable to St. Anthony on the Lake)