Eugene Louis Fieldhammer

Eugene (“Gene”) Louis Fieldhammer entered into rest on September 28, 2017 at the age of 92 in St. Louis, Missouri. Darling husband of the late Genevieve F. Fieldhammer, (née Mullin). Beloved son of the late Agda (née Anderson) and Louis Fieldhammer. Cherished and devoted father of Keith (Susan), Michael (Mary Lyn) and Nancy Hilary (Gary) Welsh. Loving Grandfather of Brigitta, Sarah and Julia. Esteemed brother-in-law of Marilyn “Teed” Story. Much-loved uncle of Jeff Caplan, Courtney Caplan, Christi (Pete) Driggs, Hugh (Colleen) Story, Charlotte (Robin) Story, Magita Story and Kim (Dave) Waters. Preceded in death by his niece Jennifer Dustin (“Dusty”) Caplan, his sister-in-law Charline “Bummy” Caplan Hammar, his brothers-in-law, Jerome Caplan, Hugh G. Story, and Kermit “Mike” Hammar.

A gifted engineer, talented artist and devoted family man, Gene was born on February 11, 1925 on the island of Manhattan in New York City and grew up in Sunnyside, Queens. In his early teens he was the Captain of the Sunnyside Athletic Club baseball team. At 16, he graduated with Honors from Brooklyn Tech High School.  He then attended The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art while holding down a job as a draftsman in the Patent Department at Bell Laboratories. In 1942, at the age of 17, he enlisted in the U.S Navy and achieved the rank of Radioman First Class. During his enlistment he was a member of the U.S. Navy Armed Guard.  He served in the American, European, and Asiatic Pacific Theatres and took part in the invasion of Southern France. Near the end of the war, Gene helped to build and maintain a U.S. Navy Weather Station in Petropavlovsk, Siberia (codename: TAMA),  and as a radio operator sent Morse code messages to advise the Fifth fleet in the Pacific, assisting in a planned invasion of Japan.

In addition to Engineering, Gene’s other passion was art, especially music, drawing and painting.  After the war, his love of art inspired him to attend summer school in Woodstock, N.Y. to pursue drawing and painting with the Art Student’s League of New York.  Gene continued his passion for painting in Paris, France where he was mentored by world-renowned artist Fernand Léger.

Gene returned to the United States and attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.  During college Gene became involved in the early Civil Rights Movement.  As a member of C.O.R.E., he participated in lunch counter sit-ins with friends, advocating for racial integration and equality, a cause he remained dedicated to throughout his life and imparted to his children.

At Kansas State, he studied Psychology, Literature and Civil Engineering, receiving a B.S. in Civil Engineering with Honors. It was there that he met the love of his life, Genevieve Florence Mullin. They were married in Gene’s hometown of New York City in 1950, and the young couple began building their life together. While Gene started his career in Civil Engineering at Edwards and Kelcey, Gen worked as a Dietician at Roosevelt Hospital.  Living on the Upper West Side, Gene and Gen liked to say that they took their honeymoon in Central Park making the most of city life, enjoying museums art galleries, and music concerts.

A registered Professional Engineer in 14 states, Gene enjoyed a long and successful career. Most notably, he worked for the esteemed David B. Steinman in New York, and was Project Manager and one of the lead engineers on the world-famous Mackinac Bridge project.  He later was the Manager of the Chicago office of New York based Goodkind and O’dea Associates.  In 1963, he joined Booker Associates in St. Louis as the head of the Bridge Design Section.  After a series of promotions, he was named President in 1980.  At Booker Associates in St. Louis he oversaw numerous design projects in the St. Louis area, across Missouri, the nation and around the world.  Significant projects in the St. Louis area included the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Expansion, the Historic St. Charles Riverfront Renovation, the Cahokia Mounds Interpretive Center and the Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River at Alton, Illinois.

Under his leadership, Booker was cited for engineering excellence by the American Consulting Engineers Council 12 times in state competitions and twice in national competitions. After his retirement in 1985, Gene remained on the Board at Booker and continued to work part-time as an independent consulting engineer, most notably on a study of Locks and Dam 26 on the Mississippi River.

Gene’s numerous professional memberships include: the Consulting Engineers Council of Missouri; the American Society of Civil Engineers; the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers; the National Society of Professional Engineers; lifetime member of The Engineers Club of St. Louis; and the Society of American Military Engineers, where he received the Award for Exceptional Service and served as President of the St. Louis Chapter.

In 1980, Gene was named College of Engineering Professor For A Day by the University of Missouri. He was given the Phi Kappa Phi scholarship recognition by Kansas State University, and in 1990 became a Distinguished Member of the Kansas State University College of Engineering Hall of Fame.

Perhaps even more significant than his impressive professional career was Gene’s dedication to his wife Genevieve and their three children. Their life together took them from New York, to New Jersey, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Chicago and finally Ferguson, Missouri where they enjoyed living for more than fifty years. He adored their historic home in Ferguson; caring for it and remodeling it was his decades long pastime.

Gene loved living in Ferguson and served on several city boards. When Gen became active in the Ferguson-Florissant AAUW branch, Eugene supported her by serving as the newsletter editor for a number of years and was an AAUW Named Gift Honoree in 1982 and 1987.

During his retirement, he embraced the emerging personal computer technology; over the years he upgraded his PC at least eight times and became a Microsoft Flight Simulator aficionado. Always a voracious reader, when his eyesight began to fail in his final years, Gene kept sharp by listening to books on tape. Among his favorite subjects were history, biographies, science, music, politics and current events.

Throughout their marriage, Gene and Gen enjoyed travel and together they toured the United States, Europe, West Africa and Central America. They were happily married for sixty-six years until Genevieve passed away in the summer of 2016.

In addition to his acute mind and keen intellect, those who knew him will most remember Gene for his kind heart, his calm nature, his generosity and his fairness of mind.

A Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday November 11, 2017 at Baue Funeral Home, 620 Jefferson St, St Charles, MO 63301. A WWII Navy Veteran, Eugene will be buried at sea by the U.S. Navy, with full military honors, out of Norfolk, VA., at a later date.

In lieu of flowers donations to the I Love Ferguson Committee; Kansas State University College of Engineering; The Wolfner Library; or Mother of Good Counsel Home would be appreciated.