Eugene "Gene" Paul Preske

Eugene Paul Preske, 93, passed away Saturday, June 1, 2024. He was born in Evansville, IN on July 21, 1930 and was preceded in death by his father Henry A. Preske, mother Lillian F. Wagner Preske and brother James H. Preske. He graduated from Memorial High School and served in the National Guard. His formative years the family had a home on Oakley Street. In 1950 his parents bought Kratzville property and Gene used 2 mules with a buck scraper to dig the basement. This Kratzville home is where Gene returned many times during his life to enjoy family/friend gatherings particularly the big annual 4th of July birthday bash for his parents, everyone joining in singing Schnitzelbank, a favorite song led by his dad. Gene and his brother Jim worked summers on their uncles’ farms, gigged for frogs (Sometimes unbeknownst to the property owners), barreled homemade wines, played clabber games with friends in the garage, drinking Sterling beer and smoking stogies. He loved his dogs especially those trained for quail hunting and rarely would you see him without one of them in his car. He never married preferring to be an outdoorsman spending most of his adult life in Colorado living his passion near the mountains. It was here he led elk hunters unfamiliar with the mountains terrain and drove tourists in buses up Pikes Peak to take in the astounding mountain views. At one point in Manitou Springs, he sold appliances on tv. He bought, repaired, renovated and sold all types of vehicles. His adventures included diving for sunken ships in Honduras in the Caribbean and working on the Alaskan pipeline. He also had a pilots license. Gene had 6 nieces and nephews, Barb Kasinger, Jenny (David) Kay, Reneta Goebel, Tony Preske, Pat Preske and Mark Preske as well as great and great greats. Thank you to all the Parkview Care Center staff for providing loving, attentive round the clock care to our Uncle Gene. Memorial contributions may be made to Parkview Care Center, 2819 N. St. Joseph Ave., Evansville, IN 47720 in Gene’s memory. There is no service, just fond memories of a life lived as he wanted it. God bless. Condolences may be offered at www.AlexanderWestChapel.com