GENE KECK, 94, of Washta, Iowa, passed away peacefully, Monday morning, July 8, 2019 in his sleep.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, July 12 ^th , at 10:30 a.m. at the Washta United Methodist Church. Rev. Cris Decious will officiate. Burial will be in the Sunset View Cemetery at Washta, Iowa with military rites by the American Legion and Cherokee V.F.W. There will be a family prayer service at 10:15 a.m. at the church on Friday. Visitation will be on Thursday from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. with the family present from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa. Online condolences can be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com

Gene was born on January 20, 1925 at Washta, Iowa to Ardie & Ellen (Law) Keck. He attended Washta Public School and then graduated from Grand Meadow High School in 1943.

Gene joined the Army Air Corps in 1944, completing his basic training in Pueblo, Colorado. He was assigned as a nose gunner on a B-24 with the 15 ^th Air Force stationed in Italy. His plane was shot down on March 22, 1945 after 21 missions over Germany. MIA/POW in Yugoslavia for almost three months til the end of WW II. He received seven medals including the Purple Heart and POW Medal.

Gene married his childhood sweetheart and classmate Carolyn Arbie Clark on March 14, 1947 in Sioux City, Iowa. He had farmed for a while with his dad but war injuries kept him from continuing. He served as Washta Postmaster and rural mail carrier from 1951 until his retirement in 1989. Following retirement he and Carolyn traveled extensively and then eventually settled in Mesa, Arizona as a snowbird.

He was a member of the Washta United Methodist Church. He belonged to the American Legion and the POW Organization for 75 years. He had served on the Washta City Council, Washta Centennial Committee, and the Washta Volunteer Fire Department.

Gene had many interests including upholstery, woodworking, restoring antique furniture, and just "tinkering" around in his shops at both homes. He loved racing cars with his son Brian, buying and selling collector muscle cars and memorabilia, watching races on TV, attending car shows and cruise ins in his favorite Dodge and Plymouth cars.

Gene was an honest, hardworking man and liked to have fun too. He was a pillar of the Washta Community; "Mr. Washta."

He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife Carolyn on February 22, 1997.

He is survived by his three children: Jeanette (John) Davis of Minnesota and Florida; Marcia (Jim) Gray of Colorado and Arizona; Brian Keck of Washta, Iowa.