Eugene Alden "Gene" Jewett

We are deeply saddened that our father, Eugene "Gene" Alden Jewett, suddenly passed away on February 16, 2013. Father, husband, lifelong friend, businessman, musician, author, poet, composer, avid reader, and professional athlete were just a few of his magnetic qualities. Gene was a visionary and early financier of online education. He was convinced that leveraging technology across the university enterprise would result in high quality college education that would be both accessible and affordable to America's middle class that he believed was increasingly marginalized and locked out of the opportunity to earn a college degree without being burdened with significant debt. Gene was a member of the GEC Board of Directors since 2001, the financial sponsor of Grantham University. He was a partner at Chesapeake Capital, LP at the time he joined GEC's board. Gene was a graduate of Michigan State University where as a freshman he started at center. At 6'8" with a great jump shot and quick reflexes, he starred in AAA minor league basketball rather than be 10th or 11th man on the bench in the NBA. While he was playing basketball, he was hired by Francis I. DuPont & Company, an investment firm and trained in New York City. Shortly thereafter, he came to work in their Washington, DC office and began his long career in the financial services industry. During his career in finance, he remained a renaissance man. He continued with his music, playing the guitar and taking classical piano lessons for seven years and composing and writing many songs. Upon his return to Washington, he became involved in the District of Columbia Young Republicans and served as their president. He became a member of the District of Columbia Republican Party, the Cato Institute, Freedom Fest and other political organizations. He was an active member in two ancestral societies, The Order of Founders and Patriots of America and The Society of Colonial Wars. An avid reader, he was passionate about writing book reviews and was a top reviewer on Amazon. A Washington, DC native, Gene lived in Old Town Alexandria, VA and is survived by his two sons, Fletcher and Eugene (Lyon), their mother, Dr. Leslie Jewett, daughter-in-law, Annie, two grandsons, Hunter and Finley and two granddaughters, Chanler and Jackie.