Eugene Lesley Smalley, Sr

Eugene "Gene" Lesley Smalley, Sr., 84, of South Charleston, was born to Alwilda Snow (Vogt) and Ralph Talbert Smalley on August 6, 1929 and has gone on to be with his Father in Heaven on February 3, 2014. He was born in Bownemont (a small town between South Charleston and Charleston and now a part of Charleston), in Kanawha County, WV. Gene was preceded in death by his high school sweetheart and loving wife of sixty-four years, Alene Frances Smalley (Ulderich). He was also preceded in death by his two sisters, Genevieve Clay and Janet Rhyne; and his three brothers, Talbert Smalley, Raymond Smalley and Melvin Smalley. Gene and Alene made their home together in the James Park section of South Charleston, WV. They had three children. The oldest, Cathy A. Jones, husband Scott of Denver, CO; son Eugene Smalley, Jr. of South Charleston, WV; son Steven Smalley, wife Angela of Great Mills, MD; grandchildren, Scott Jones and wife, Lauren of Highlands Ranch, CO; granddaughter, Shannon Gray and husband, Jacob of Denver, CO; Jason Smalley of South Charleston, WV; Ashley Smalley, Lauren Smalley and Jessica Smalley of Great Mills, MD; great grandchildren, Ava Gray, Ireland Gray, Wyatt Jones, and West Jones. He was so proud of all his kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. Gene served his country in the United States Air Force (USAF) for nearly four years during the Korean War. Alene and Gene lived in Biloxi Mississippi during Gene's training for Air Traffic Control and also lived in San Antonio, Texas where Cathy was born. He trained and served as an air traffic controller and was deployed to Korea for a little over one year of his time in the USAF. He received the Good Conduct Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, and National Defense Service Medal. He received an honorable discharge from the USAF in December 1955. Gene continued his service to the United States by becoming a Federal Department of Transportation employee and an air traffic controller at Kanawha Airport (now Yeager Airport) in Charleston, WV. He served at Kanawha Airport for nearly twenty-five years and retired the first time. A few months after he retired the first time, he was recalled by the Federal Government back to work during the Air Traffic Controller Recovery Act. He worked about another year and retired for the final time. Gene was the provider and protector of the family. He was always down in the shop or garage tinkering with and fixing things. He had a real knack at fixing broken mechanical or electronic items. He also had an unsuccessful run for South Charleston City Council during the early part of his retirement. A short time before his beloved wife Alene passed away, she got Gene to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. This moment came with tears of joy from Alene, a devout Christian. Visitation will be held from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, with service at 1:00 PM on Saturday, February 8, 2014, at Snodgrass Funeral Home located at 4122 MacCorkle Avenue, South Charleston, WV. Entombment will follow immediately after the service at Sunset Memorial Park in South Charleston, WV. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Parkinson Foundation Gift Processing Center, PO Box 5018, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5018 or Online at: http://www.parkinson.org/ . Memories of Eugene may be shared by visiting www.snodgrassfuneral.com and selecting the obituary.