I regret to inform you all that Gene, known here by his forum handle messabout, passed away peacefully a few weeks ago, on the 19th of September, at the age of 96, because of stage 4 cancer and congestive heart failure.
I knew him very well, he was my friend and mentor. We met here at this very forum when I was designing my very first sailboat, during my studies in 2014. He was one of the many people who replied to my many (naive) questions, and later we shared correspondence via email for over 12 years. Even though he was from the US and I am from Lithuania, he offered to pay for my flight to Florida so I could visit him for a few weeks, and some years later I visited him several more times. Over these years he became my teacher and mentor, and helped me design and build 3 more boats. Not only that, but he inspired me to pursue engineering, even though I had graduated from a music academy and was a struggling artist at the time. With his shared knowledge, guidance, books and most importantly - patience, encouragement and support, he helped me turn my life around and become an engineer, contributing to lifting my family out of financial struggles.
With Gene's teaching and encouragement, I built 4 boats so far, and together we inspired over a dozen other people to try boatbuilding here in Lithuania, which eventually grew into an amateur boatbuilding community - something that we didn't have here before. On top of that, dozens more people found the joy of sailing small boats, and every year now we gather in an annual sailing camp where we bring our DIY and other boats, now with over 40 members. None of that would have happened if it weren't for Gene.
Gene had an amazing life, full of adventure. Early in his life he worked with his father in a powerboat business, designing and building all sorts of dinghies, experimental boats and radio-controlled models. For a while, he designed, built and raced motorcycles. He served in the Coast Guard, worked as a mathematics tutor, and later as a draftsman and engineer at a plant. For a considerable part of his life he built and repaired boats and canoes (over 40 in total!), later opened his own screen printing company. As if his life wasn't colorful enough, his interests extended deep into electronics, music, politics, mathematics and astronomy. And yet he always found the time for others, sharing everything that he knew and had.
Gene was like a grandfather to me, someone I looked up to for as long as I can remember. He changed my life, and made a huge impact on the sailing and boatbuilding community here in Lithuania. We owe so much to him that I can't put into words.
He is survived by his wonderful wife and two daughters.
I knew him very well, he was my friend and mentor. We met here at this very forum when I was designing my very first sailboat, during my studies in 2014. He was one of the many people who replied to my many (naive) questions, and later we shared correspondence via email for over 12 years. Even though he was from the US and I am from Lithuania, he offered to pay for my flight to Florida so I could visit him for a few weeks, and some years later I visited him several more times. Over these years he became my teacher and mentor, and helped me design and build 3 more boats. Not only that, but he inspired me to pursue engineering, even though I had graduated from a music academy and was a struggling artist at the time. With his shared knowledge, guidance, books and most importantly - patience, encouragement and support, he helped me turn my life around and become an engineer, contributing to lifting my family out of financial struggles.
With Gene's teaching and encouragement, I built 4 boats so far, and together we inspired over a dozen other people to try boatbuilding here in Lithuania, which eventually grew into an amateur boatbuilding community - something that we didn't have here before. On top of that, dozens more people found the joy of sailing small boats, and every year now we gather in an annual sailing camp where we bring our DIY and other boats, now with over 40 members. None of that would have happened if it weren't for Gene.
Gene had an amazing life, full of adventure. Early in his life he worked with his father in a powerboat business, designing and building all sorts of dinghies, experimental boats and radio-controlled models. For a while, he designed, built and raced motorcycles. He served in the Coast Guard, worked as a mathematics tutor, and later as a draftsman and engineer at a plant. For a considerable part of his life he built and repaired boats and canoes (over 40 in total!), later opened his own screen printing company. As if his life wasn't colorful enough, his interests extended deep into electronics, music, politics, mathematics and astronomy. And yet he always found the time for others, sharing everything that he knew and had.
Gene was like a grandfather to me, someone I looked up to for as long as I can remember. He changed my life, and made a huge impact on the sailing and boatbuilding community here in Lithuania. We owe so much to him that I can't put into words.
He is survived by his wonderful wife and two daughters.
