Gene Evon Hart

Gene Evon Hart, 84, of Charlotte, passed away Friday, April 22, surrounded by those who loved him, most importantly his wife of 56 years, Kathy Bullard Hart. He died after a valiant battle with lung disease.

Born in Charlotte, N.C., to the late Alva H. Frye, Gene served in World War II in the U.S. Navy. He worked at Speizman Industries for more than 45 years, advancing from service engineer to supervisor to plant manager to vice president of manufacturing. In addition to regular production and technical responsibilities, Gene was one of the chief innovators of new products for Speizman. These included items such as the Kwik-Ribr program and the Carolina Knitfast-4T, a four-feed terry tube sock knitter. Gene was awarded a patent in 1982, along with Jack Barbee, for auxiliary yard feed finger and pattern drum sleeve for circular knitting machines. He not only knew the workings of knitting machines but every type of equipment that goes into a hosiery mill.

Gene enjoyed spending time with his family and loved his wife’s cooking. He read the newspaper every day and liked country music. Along with his wife, he maintained beautiful gardens around his Charlotte home. Gene was adamant that his children and grandchildren receive the college education he could not afford. Kathy and Stan forever will be grateful for his gift of education and his love of Carolina basketball, which led them both to UNC-Chapel Hill.

He is survived by his devoted wife, Kathy Bullard Hart; a daughter, Kathy Hart and her husband, Michael McDonald, of Cary, N.C.; a son, Stanley Gene Hart and his wife, Roberta Sech, of Ridgefield, Conn.; and five grandchildren: Stephen Safriet, Thomas McDonald, Eileen McDonald, Katherine Safriet and Alexandra Hart. He also leaves one sister, Jeri Davis, and her husband, Chuck, of Portland, Ore. Special relatives in Gene’s life were his niece, Fran Chapman, and her husband, Ronnie, of Matthews, N.C.; and his brother-in-law, Kenneth Bullard, of Concord, N.C. He had many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at the Brown Wynne Funeral Home in Cary, N.C., on Saturday, May 14, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. A celebration of his life will follow at the home of Kathy Hart and Michael McDonald, 315 Rose Valley Woods Drive, Cary, N.C. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to the American Lung Association at 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 800. Washington, DC 20004 or http://www.lungusa.org/donate/memorial-honor-gifts/.

Condolences can be sent to Kathy Hart at the address above or www.brownwynnecary.com.