Eugene Mccloud, Jr.

Eugene McCloud, Jr. was born on October 1, 1946. Gene McCloud was the only child of Eugene McCloud, Senior and Marie Plessis McCloud.

Gene McCloud was baptized in the Catholic Church and confirmed in the Episcopalian Church. He was an active member of the Lutheran Church for 15 years - first at Elim Lutheran Church in Petaluma, California and later at Saint Stephen Lutheran Church in Louisville, Kentucky.

Gene graduated from Lincoln County High School in Caliente, Nevada in 1964.

Gene first became interested in cooking when he was just a boy of ten helping his mother in their family kitchen. While studying Civil Engineering at the University of Nevada at Reno – he had a part-time job working for Harrah's Casino and Resort in the university dining commons where he fed his fellow students. Gene began his culinary career scrubbing pots and pans. Then he progressed to working the 16-foot grill with 2 other cooks. He also served as a sous chef for the weekend chefs.

The folks from Harrah's quickly spotted Gene's passion for food and hired him to work in their steakhouse doing tableside food presentations and cooking for the huge conventions that came to the local convention center.

From 1967-1971, Gene served in the United States Army serving 3 tours in Vietnam. He received an honorable discharge having earned the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.

Following his time in the army, Gene worked first as a bus driver for Golden Gate Transit in San Francisco and later for Fred Phelps as a land surveyor.

Gene continued to explore his passion for cooking making his famous chili and barbequing for large gatherings of family and friends. Gene joined the Golden Gators Camper Club and cooked for their monthly gatherings for many years.

In 1991, Eugene McCloud met and married Dolores Frey in Reno, Nevada.

He became a charter bus driver and toured the United States many times making friends wherever he went. During this time he was lovingly given the nickname "Geno." One of his favorite groups to travel with was the Western Opera Theater from San Francisco, California.

Upon his retirement, Geno decided to pursue a degree in the culinary arts from Santa Rosa Junior College and interned at La Gare learning French cuisine.

When Geno wasn't cooking – he was busy cheering for his San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

In 2018, Dolores and Geno moved to Louisville, Kentucky to begin their new adventure together. After their move to the Mid-West – Geno enjoyed model railroading and was learning to play the banjo.

Gene is survived by his beloved wife of 31 years – Dolores Frey McCloud. His cousin – George (Carol) Bigler of Goodrich, Texas. His sister-in-law – Marian (Paul Behringer) Olsen of Petaluma, California and many cherished friends across the United States and Europe.

The memorial for Gene will be on 1pm Sunday, September 18, 2022 at Saint Stephen Lutheran Church, 5903 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40291.

Donations can be sent to Saint Stephen Lutheran Church in Gene's memory.

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