Eugene R “Gene” Quintana, age 79, passed away March 11, 2022, in Tooele, Utah, of congenital heart failure.
Gene was born Sept. 6, 1942, in Olathe, Colorado, to Joseph and Caroline Quintana. He was the second of three boys. His parents moved to Utah where Gene lived the rest of his life. Gene went to high school at West High, and he was a proud Panther. After high school, Gene enlisted in the U.S. Army. He completed basic training at Fort Ord in California and completed his military training at Fort Hood in Texas and served two tours in Vietnam.
When Gene returned from the service, he took a job at the Tooele Army Depot where he met his wife Susanne. Gene became stepdad to Susanne’s two young sons, and Gene and Susanne had two daughters. Gene worked for the Army Depot for 25 years, retiring in 1993.
Gene loved his family and spent as much time with them as possible. He loved to tease the grandkids and make them laugh. Dad had a quick wit, and a great sense of humor. He loved old war movies, and Tom Clancey novels. He loved the music from the 50s and the 60s that ranged from rock and roll to jazz to Motown. His biggest love besides his family was for University of Utah football. He was a true Ute fan. Dad and Uncle Bob had season tickets for many, many years. And when he couldn’t get up to the games any longer, he faithfully watched them on TV. Every house in the neighborhood knew when the Utes were playing because you could hear Dad yelling and screaming a block away.
Gene and Susanne were married for 41 years until her death in 2010. They raised four wonderful kids together: Johnny, Chris, Lisa and Carrie. Gene was preceded in death by his parents Joe and Carrie, and by his stepdad Mike Martinez, his brother Georgie, his beautiful wife Susanne, and his stepson Johnny Hammond. He is survived by his son Chris (Valerie) Hammond; daughters Lisa (George) Lowe and Carrie (Brian) Peterson; 10 grandchildren, two-step grandchildren; and two bonus great-grandsons; his brother Robert (Esther) Quintana; stepbrothers Robert, Michael and Mark Martinez; stepsister Gloria Martinez; sister-in-law Karen Emery; and brother-in-law Bradley (Paula) Shields; and many more extended family members.
It’s comforting knowing Dad is with his beloved wife Susie, and the rest of the family he has missed so much. We miss him more than words can say and look forward to seeing him again, happy and healthy and screaming for the Utes.
A viewing will be held Monday, March 28, 2022, from 6 to 7 p.m., at Tate Mortuary, followed by a rosary from 7 to 8 p.m. Services will be held at Tate Mortuary, Tuesday, March 29, at 11 a.m., with a viewing one hour prior. Burial will be at Tooele City Cemetery. A small luncheon will be held at his daughter Lisa’s house after the service.
Dad wasn’t the type to get sad or weepy, he would want us to celebrate his life. Wear his beloved Crimson and come honor his great life.
Our family would like to extend a very special thank you to the paramedics and EMTs who worked so hard to save Dad. Your compassion and refusal to give up means so much to us. You can’t possibly know how comforting you were to us in the worst moment of our lives. We will always be grateful to you for helping him pass with dignity. We would also like to thank the wonderful people at Our House Assisted Living for making his last few months comfortable and entertaining. We’re sure he was really disappointed he missed Elvis that night.