February 24, 1935 - October 11, 2020, age 85
Gene was born to Faye and Margaret Mercer in Fort Scott, Kansas, where he went to elementary, middle and high school and JUCO of Fort Scott. Afterwards, he attended the Winona School of Photography in Indiana. He was hired by Kansas Gas and Electric of Wichita as their industrial photographer. It was there he met Karol Ziegler, formally of Collyer, Kansas, daughter of Frank and Lucille Ziegler. Karol and Gene married in 1960 and had 4 children. During this time, he served in the Army National Reserve for 4 years. In 1969, he moved his family to Colorado and became a Hotsy Distributor covering a 3 state area. He later had a long career as an underground fault finder, based out of Centennial Colorado, where the children grew up. He retired in 2012. In February of 2020, he and Karol moved to Arlington, Texas and lived there until his death.
Gene loved building model airplanes, woodworking, archery, fishing, camping and especially motorcycling. For quite a few years, he enjoyed piloting his own Cessna plane, and was also an accomplished gunsmith.
Surviving him are his wife, Karol Mercer, two daughters: Jean Ann Mercer {Jerry Fetterman} of Yellow Jacket, Colorado, and Barbara {Steve} Gray of San Antonio, Texas; and one son Mathew {Tracie} Mercer of Arlington Texas. One son-in-law, Les Wenger of Scottsdale, Arizona. He leaves behind 5 beloved grandchildren: Karoline Gray and Sam Gray, both students at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama; Logan, Madeline, and Dylan Mercer, living with their parents, Mathew and Tracie. Surviving in-laws include: Phillip {Jerry} Ziegler of Pratt, Kansas; Diane {James} Swisher of Houston Texas; Annette {Jerry} William of Hays, Kansas; Ronald {Rhoda} Ziegler of Collyer, Kansas; Jane Flagler of Overland Park, Kansas; Susan {Mike} Morgenstern of Lone Tree, Colorado. He is also survived by 1 cousin, Betsy Hamm of Topeka, Kansas, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by daughter Susan Mercer-Wenger, who died in 2017.
Final arrangements will be in Fort Scott, Kansas, at a later date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, memorials of Gene may be sent to: Heart to Heart Hospice of Fort Worth, Texas, 5608 Malvey Ave Suite #301, Fort Worth, Texas 76107. Ziegler Funeral Chapel, Dodge City, Kansas, is handling arrangements.