Eugene Wilkins

MODESTO, Calif. — Eugene "Gene" George Wilkins passed away Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto.

He was born June 22, 1940, in Lubbock, Texas, to Clyde and Alice Wilkins.

Gene graduated from Monterey High School in Lubbock and joined the U.S. Navy, where he was selected for the electronics program. Following his honorable discharge, he attended New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering.

He worked at White Sands, New Mexico, including on the NASA moonshot. He then worked for Ling-Temco-Vought in Dallas and then Procter & Gamble in Missouri, Germany and California. After becoming a licensed professional engineer, he established Complere Engineering Group.

Gene loved both playing and watching sports, farming and traveling. He was chairman of the Bollinger County (Missouri) Bicentennial Committee and was involved in the Young Farmers Association. He was a long-time Rotarian, and served for many years on Stanislaus Partners in Education Board.

He was a kind and loving husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife, Mary Sample Wilkins; daughter, Laura Wilkins Scarlata; and grandchildren, Matteo and Sophia; in addition to his three brothers, Robert, Charles and Alan.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Friday, June 23, at Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield.