Eugene Martin Effler
November 24, 1923 - October 18, 2004
Obituary
Gene Effler
Long-time Alaska resident, Eugene Martin “Gene” Effler, 80, died October 18, 2004, at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, Washington, after a long battle with cancer.
At his request, no funeral will be held; however, a celebration of life will be held in Homer, Alaska, on July 4, 2005, at the family homestead, where his cremated ashes will be scattered near those of his wife, Mim.
Mr. Effler was born November 24, 1923, in Washington, Missouri. He graduated in 1942 from Washington High School.
Gene joined the military during World War II. He earned his wings as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1944 and was assigned as flight gunnery and tactical instructor in single engine fighters. He later started an aerobatic team named the ”Satan’s Angels” giving air shows at air bases. In 1945, the team moved to Thunderbird Field and was renamed the Thunderbirds.
Once the war was over, Gene got out of the Army Air Corps, and ferried aircraft for awhile around the United States, Mexico and Canada. He also instructed people how to fly, and operated a cafeteria at Kratz Airport in St. Charles, Missouri, with his Army Air Corps buddy, Roy “Skip” Utter. Gene met his future wife, Millie “Mim” Morrison when she came in for a meal.
Gene’s maternal grandfather, Frank Martin, had often recounted tales of Alaska from his mining days at the AJ Mine in Juneau during the 1890s, and sparked an interest in Gene to explore Alaska. After marrying Mim in Salome, Arizona, on July 4, 1947, Gene, Mim and Skip decided to move to Alaska to continue their love of flying and their desire to see the “Last Frontier”, and flew to Alaska in August 1947, when the huge wildfire known as the “Great Burn” was burning on the Kenai Peninsula.
After arriving in Alaska, Gene worked at flying survey crews for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, occasionally landing on mountainsides and glaciers, as it was before the advent of helicopters. He also continued to teach flight instruction, worked as a big game guide and developed a 160-acre homestead with Mim on East Hill in Homer.
Gene began flying for Alaska Airlines in 1951 as a co-pilot, then as an airline captain for Cordova Airlines. Once Cordova Airlines merged with Alaska Airlines, he was an airline captain for Alaska Airlines until his retirement in 1978. After retirement, Gene became a helicopter pilot, fulfilling a lifelong goal. He continued to fly private aircraft and helicopters, accumulating 35,000 flying hours in his lifetime.
Gene and Mim decided to raise their family in Anchorage, and moved there from Homer in December 1950.
During their time in Anchorage, Gene and Mim became co-owners of Effco Electronics in downtown Anchorage in 1957 with Mim’s sister, Bookie, and her husband, Ray Cone. Gene and Mim also owned a king crab fishing boat in Kodiak named the “Widgeon II”, and built and renovated rental apartments and houses with their family. Both Gene and Mim had real estate salesmen licenses, and Gene also had a broker’s license. When not flying or fishing, Gene enjoyed hunting big game, and would take time off every year to hunt on the North American or African continents, gathering many hunting trophies along the way.
Gene worked behind the scenes for fifteen years championing the creation of the North-South runway at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, and regarded its being built as one of the best air safety works of enduring significance he could have been involved in.
After he retired, Gene and Mim began spending their winters in Oregon at their filbert farm, then sold it and bought an orange grove in Valley Center, California, where they subsequently stayed in the winter when they were not traveling. Summers were always spent in Homer on the homestead, which he and Mim had subdivided into “Bayview Gardens Subdivision”. In Homer, Gene could often be found sailing Kachemak Bay on his beloved halibut fishing boat, the “Bayview Lady”.
He always felt he was born at the right time, at the right place, and that he lived a life considered “the best of all worlds”.
Survivors include daughters and sons-in-law Linda and Brady Drummond of Wasilla, Alaska, Carolyn and Bill Carfrae of Burien, Washington, and Sherri and Earl Houser of Anchorage, Alaska; son and daughter-in-law, Roy and Crystal Effler of Wasilla, Alaska; 11 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren, and many other relatives throughout the United States. Gene was preceded in death by his wife, Mim, who died January 22, 2003, his parents, Blanche and Carl Effler, three sisters, two brothers and two grandsons.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to a charity of your choice. Condolences can be sent to Carolyn Carfrae, 2130 SW 122nd Place, Burien, Washington 98146, or Tammy Lindemuth, 1210 F Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501.
I felt priveldged to know both
Gene and Mim and will miss them both. They are both in my prayers.
I will allways remember my best friend. His departure has left a void in my life that can not be filled.
Gene & Mim were great friends
and mentors. I will always remember them particularly when we worked together to have the North South Runway built!
We all miss you so much Papa! We will forever cherish the times we spent in Homer with you, fishing, spending time visiting around the campfire, scouring the hillside in search of wildflowers, and relaxing with a “Homesteader.” The stories of your life that you would tell us over and over were the best! Thank you for loving us! Love, Tammy Jean
The salt of the earth!!
All who knew Gene now live a little differently and better now. With Gene and Mim above maybe the world will now become a better place.
To my Dad and Mom,
You two have been so inspirational to all the good people that have known you! I will love you and miss you forever!
My family will always know about the great parents I had! Kisses and hugs to the great parents and grandparents you were on this earth! May God bless you!
XOXO Carolyn
My Papa Gene was the best. I was the first grandchild, and my first word was “Papa” and the reason we called him Papa. I’ll never forget when he flew me upside down over Beluga Lake or when he gave me a collectable Shirley Temple doll. I had a dream of flying over the Homer house with him and an angel that looked like my cousin Sam. In the dream, there was a hanging basket of forget-me-nots that had frosted over. I miss him so much!
The cancer has spread. My fight is almost over. I’ll see him soon. Much love 🙂