Eugene "Gene" Arthur Gilbert was born on March 13, 1934, to Samuel and Birdeva (Rhine) Gilbert in Brookings, SD, and passed away after battling kidney disease, which included 8½ years of dialysis. Gene died on Friday, February 2, 2018, surrounded by family at Edgewood Vista, an assisted living facility in Brookings that had become home. Funeral Services will be 10:00 A.M. Tuesday, February 6, 2018, at Bethel Baptist Church in Brookings with burial to follow at Bethel Cemetery, rural Yale, S.D. Visitation will be from 5-7 P.M. Monday, February 5, 2018, at Eidsness Funeral Home.

Gene grew up on the family farm and graduated from Verdi High School, MN. Throughout this time he was known to his family and friends as Art. When he entered the Air Force in 1954, he learned that his birth certificate read Eugene Arthur instead of the reverse. He served in the Air Force in Germany and Japan and received an Honorable Discharge in 1957. He moved to Brookings, SD, where he met Ellen Kleinsasser in November 1959. They married in April 1960 and moved to Hillsboro, KS, where he earned his B.S. from Tabor College. After teaching science in Doland, SD, and Alexandria, SD, Gene was employed as a South Dakota Health Inspector based in Brookings for 22 years. Gene and Ellen showed their commitment to each other as they dealt with the challenges of Ellen's multiple sclerosis. Gene made it possible for them to be very involved in the lives of Jon and Katie, their grandchildren who lived nearby.

Always an avid hunter, fisherman, and gardener, Gene later became involved in square dancing as well. He also taught fourth grade Sunday school and helped with the MOPS program for years at Bethel Baptist Church.

Gene was survived by his children Timothy (Marlene) Gilbert, Erie, CO; Ruth (Paul) Manson, Huron, SD; and Susan (Dr. Timothy Collins) Gilbert-Collins; grandchildren: Jonathan (Layne) Manson, Brookings, SD; Katherine (Stephen) Nielson, N Sioux City, SD; Joseph, Erin, and Megan Gilbert, Erie, CO; and Samuel and Joshua Collins, Penfield, NY. His surviving siblings include: Ivan (Marjean) Gilbert, Fargo, ND; Jeannine (Lou) Beasley, Hanover, MN; Kathleen Priester, Hastings, MN; James Gilbert, Hopkins, MN; Lureen (George) Beasley, Crown Point, IN.

Gene was preceded in death by his wife, Ellen, in 1994, his brother John, sister Darlene, brother-in-law Donald, and his parents.

Because of his love for children, memorials will go to a local preschool program with which Gene had connections. Memorials can be sent to Ruth Manson.