Eugene Louis Goebel, age 88, of Nixa, Missouri, passed away at 8:40 AM on 10 September 2019.

If you knew him, then you knew he was a story teller, so in his honor, here is the story of Gene.

From the time he could toddle, Gene was part of Louis Goebel Wild Animal Trainers in Thousand Oaks, California.  His family provided animals for the movie business in Hollywood including those for such timeless classics as Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments and Bedtime for Bonzo starring Ronald Reagan . If you recall seeing Leo the Lion, who was the mascot for the MGM movie studio, then you might be surprised to know that the Louis Goebel family was part of this project, too.

Gene graduated 16 June 1949 from Oxnard Union High School, in Oxnard, California.

During Gene's time in the U.S. Navy he served with the United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Seabees.  He spent three years in the Philippines at Subic Bay working as a mechanic on a variety of equipment, and rapidly rose in rank to First Class Petty Officer.  He was eventually put in charge of the engine overhaul shop where he proudly served his country and the Seabee's slogan of, "Can Do!" and, "The difficult we do now, the impossible takes a little longer."

After his stint in Navy, Gene returned to Thousand Oaks to work the family business handling wild animals.  Photos reveal a smiling Gene holding twenty-foot long snakes or standing only inches from snarling lions.

Gene's love of engines, and anything mechanical, lead him to tinker with steam engines and he eventually started a small business called Tiny Power .  There, Gene designed, built, and marketed plans and parts for truly tiny, working steam engines.  Gene also spent many a September working the annual Steam-O-Rama event hosted by the Ozarks Steam Engine Association near Republic, Missouri.  He was also a charter member of the Model Engineering Club in Oklahoma and often attended events there as well.

Gene was also a distinguished member of the Grand Lodge of Missouri Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and in 2008 was awarded the coveted fifty-year service pin by his Masonic brothers.

Yes, Gene had many stories, and often he would weave them around one or all of his sons.  Gene was proud of his family and the things they had done and are doing.  These stories were good memories for him and his eyes were bright with the telling as he vividly recalled details that usually involved humor in some way.

Gene's life would change on 11 August 1987 because he attended, of all things, a square dance.  It was there he met the love of his life, Patricia Walsh Goebel. He was smitten and never dated anyone else from that moment on.  (Pat says, "Neither did she."   He and Pat married on 10 June 1989 and this summer they celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary.

During their marriage they often stated they, "Never had a fuss, not one."  Gene and Pat traveled extensively and visited far away lands such as Israel, China, Europe, the Panama Canal, Canada, and north to Alaska.  They even made several trips to exotic locations such as Koshkonong and Thayer, Missouri.  On these trips Gene and Pat were both suckers for novelties like Amish jams and jellies, or Gene's favorite, barbecue sauces from almost everywhere he could find a unique flavor of one.

Gene was a long-time, well-respected member of the Nixa Christian Church where he served as Church Elder Emeritus and where Pat played the organ for nearly sixteen years.  He often taught Sunday school classes and he touched many in the church as a quiet leader living a life with positive actions, and not just words.

Gene was a good and gentle man, with an easy laugh and a million stories.  He never met a stranger he couldn't talk to like a friend, and he will be missed by all who knew him.

Family was powerfully important to Gene and he was preceded in death by his parents Louis and Kathleen Goebel.  He is survived by his loving wife Patricia Walsh Goebel of Nixa, Missouri.  A sister, Alma Heil of Florence, Oregon. Gene is also survived by his three sons, Louis Eugene Justin (Skip) Goebel and William Harvey Madison Goebel, both of Porterville, California; and Dr. Lance Kenneth Clarence and Shelley Goebel of Johnson City, Tennessee.

Visitation will be held at Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home in Springfield, Missouri on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.  Funeral Services will be held at Nixa Christian Church the following morning, September 19, 2019 at 9:00 AM. Interment ceremony with Military Funeral Honors will be at 11:00 AM at Missouri Veterans Cemetery.  There will be lunch served at Nixa Christian Church immediately following.

The family's special request is that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made in Gene's honor to the Nixa Christian Church. www.nixacc.org He would be very happy about that.

As it drew time to leave a visit with Gene, his parting words to nearly anyone would be, " your name here , thanks."  He was like that.