Gene Hyde

PLANT CITY -- In 1952, Mr. Gene Hyde and his wife, Shirley, started Gene Hyde Trucking, a one-truck operation that over the years evolved into a major trucking carrier."They probably have about 150 (trucks) right now," Shirley Hyde said. "Our children are running the business, and we have our office in Conyers, Ga."Mr. Hyde died of heart failure Sunday (Dec. 19, 2004). He was 74.He was born in Oklahoma on Feb. 26, 1930.The couple started their trucking company in Georgia and relocated to Lakeland in 1968, later moving to Plant City. They originally leased their only truck to Watkins Motor Lines."He stayed with them until 1983," Shirley Hyde said.The couple would have been married 53 years today. "We worked side by side. We worked together, we lived together, we slept together," Shirley Hyde said.Although his wife retired after 35 or 36 years in the business, Mr. Hyde still went to the office daily. "He was all business but everybody he came in to contact with loved him. He was a very loyal. Everybody knew him at the office and everybody fell in love with him. Once you had been around him for three or four times, you just loved him," Shirley Hyde said.As an avid hunter and fisherman, Mr. Hyde enjoyed his annual trips to Alaska where he fished with a group of his friends.He was an Army veteran. He was past president and a member of the Kathleen Lion's Club. He was a member and deacon at First Baptist Church of Midway.In addition to his wife, Shirley, Mr. Hyde is survived by his daughter, June Hargraves, Lakeland; sons, James Hyde, Plant City, Dewell Hyde, Lakeland, David Hyde, Jefferson City, Tenn.; brothers, Willie Hyde, Thomasville, Ga., Herman Hyde, and Ed Hyde, both of Canton, Ga.; seven grandchildren; three stepgrandchildren; and one great-grandson.Services will be at 2 this afternoon at First Baptist Church of Midway in Plant City.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Newspaper with a Heart, P.O. Box 408, Lakeland, 33802. Lakeland Funeral Home.