Everyone loved the Helfrecht Standard Service Station. If you didn't know it, you knew the building with the white clapboard siding, glossy red trim, and high-pitched green roof.  Everything was always spotless, including the owner. It was where people in West Springfield or those passing through would meet. Not only would you get your gas pumped and your windshield cleaned, you would get the latest news and perhaps a candy bar from under the glass case and an ice-cold Coca-Cola.

Eugene Helfrecht still checked on his station daily--long after his retirement--and he passed away there quietly, September 28, 2016, at the age of 85, while getting his mail. His wife, Klova Warner Helfrecht, was there by his side where, here on earth, he clasped her hand one last time. Just two years ago, he and the school teacher, who grew up on Nichols Street, celebrated 50 years of marriage. Klova's father, Floyd Warner, bought his gas there and Gene would cash her Mom's $1.28 milk check. Soon, she too, was visiting the station frequently.

Gene will be remembered as a non-assuming, hardworking man who was incredibly kind and honest. He loved to hunt, fish, and farm but most of all, he loved Klova and always put her needs and safety first. He and Klova were known to take care of and adopt a few stray kittens over the years (they were always black and white and coincidentally, always had the same name). Gene was also devoted to a 3-legged neighborhood dog named "Temp."

Eugene Helfrecht was born June 8, 1931, in Springfield, Missouri, to parents R.E. Helfrecht and Edith Mack Helfrecht. He had three brothers, Robert Jr., Norman, and Joseph. He began working at the station at age 12 and became the owner when he was a senior at Central High School, Class of 1949. He operated the station for over 4 decades, with an interruption to serve in the U.S. Army, where he was honorably discharged in 1952.

A remembrance of his life will be held at Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, 1947 E. Seminole, Springfield, Missouri, on Monday, October 3, 2016, from 6 to 7 PM. Graveside services will be Tuesday morning, October 4, 2016, 10 AM, at Hazelwood Cemetery, 1642 E. Seminole St, Springfield, Missouri.

Gene loved to tell and hear a good story. And as everyone knows, a good story never really ends.