VIETH, Eugene "Gene" F, 92, of Largo, FL, passed away on November 27, 2016 after a short illness. As Gene would have told you, "he cashed it in". He was born in St. Louis on July 6th, 1924 and spent his youth working odd jobs until he joined the Marines after the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941. He was stationed in San Diego, CA before being deployed to the South Pacific during WW II. After the war, he returned to St. Louis where he married the love of his life and best friend Ruby. Gene was a high rise crane operator, working on the St. Louis Arch as it was being built and other high rise buildings in the downtown area. The family loved to vacation in Treasure Island, FL and in 1977, Gene and Ruby moved to Largo, FL with their 3 children. Gene opened his own handy man business which he operated for many years and sometimes with the help of his son.

Gene was born with the "gift of gab" and had many friends throughout his journey in life. He always had a story to tell and could hold a conversation about anything with anyone at any time. Always with a joke on the tip of his tongue, he made people laugh and smile. He enjoyed spending time with his family, fishing and especially woodworking. After he retired, he spent his days building wooden airplanes and bird houses right up until the time he was 90. That's when he tried to cut off 2 of his fingers and his son made the difficult decision to take his power saw away! Gene was not happy. In 2014 and accompanied by his son, he took the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C to tour the national monuments. He was very proud of his service to our country and delighted in talking with other veterans, young and old. When told in his later years he should slow down, take it easy and get some rest, Gene would reply "I don't need any rest! You do that when you're dead"! Never one to sit around, he was still going to "happy hour" and jitter bugging at his retirement home a month before he passed away. He was always the life of the party.
A devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, Gene was predeceased by his wife Ruby in 2011. He is survived by his son Scott (Laurie), his daughters Renee (Bruce) Copeland and Penny (Peter) Haseloff. He also leaves behind 6 grandchildren, 2 step-grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. He will be greatly missed.

A service will be held at 2:15 on Tuesday, December 13th , 2016 at Bay Pines National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made in Gene's name to Honor Flight of West Central Florida or a veteran's charity of your choosing.