'Soft-spoken' Gene Penzel, 84, dies

Carl Gene Penzel, known by the community as �Gene,� died Tuesday at the age of 84.

�He was always a sounding board for me, and obviously that�s gone,� Penzel�s son, Phil, said of his father Wednesday. �That�s a void for me.�

Phil Penzel, president and CEO of Penzel Construction Co. in Jackson, said, �He was kind of soft spoken ... and he had a very big impact upon the industry and supported regional growth.�

Gene Penzel joined his father, Carl, in managing Penzel Construction upon returning to his native Jackson after serving in the U.S. Navy from 1955 to 1959, where he reached the rank of lieutenant.

He took over as president of the company from his father in 1981, and held the position until 1996, when Phil Penzel took on the job. Gene Penzel continued working until his retirement in 2002.

Throughout his career, his specialties involved construction of highway bridges, buildings and heavy construction.

Gene Penzel�s father, Carl, was known for his gardening skills � in addition to construction � made apparent by the still-present farmland between Millersville and Oak Ridge known as Pinecrest Azalea Gardens.

Gene Penzel and his wife, Linda, acquired the 52 acres with more than 3,000 plants from his parents � who originally bought the farm in 1963.

He also had served on the Jackson Board of Alderman and had been active in the Cape Girardeau and Jackson chambers of commerce and within the Jackson Industrial Development Corp.

�It�s a passing of one of the icons within our community,� City of Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs said Tuesday. �He did so much. He was a big part of our Jackson Industrial Development Corp. that�s built some of the key buildings and structures here for manufacturing that we have in Jackson.�

Hahs said, �He was certainly a very open person, but probably more important for me, he was always offering his support and his counsel. Most important, he just was interested in what was going on in the city.�

Penzel also had an adventurous side.

At the age of 61, he placed sixth in the 60-64 age division at the Gatorade Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kailua, Hawaii.

His son, Phil, described the activity as �most definitely� out of the ordinary for Penzel. Gene Penzel covered the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26-mile marathon run in a time of 15 hours, 1 minute and 31 seconds � competing against 1,493 other competitors during his �dream vacation.�

Gene Penzel was a lifelong member of Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson.

His other memberships and affiliations include: the Academy of Civil Engineering, UMR; Associated General Contractors of Missouri; Society of Professional Engineers; SEMO Contractors Association; Cape Industrial Recruitment Association; Jackson and Cape Girardeau chambers of commerce; Jackson Heritage Association; SEMO Regional Port Authority.

A visitation for Penzel will be from 3 to 8 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.

The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with military honors and interment following at Memorial Park Cemetery in Cape Girardeau.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

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