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Gene Utke says he was always a "straight arrow, boring kid," but
his life has been anything but boring. After graduating
from Rocky, he attended Augustana College in Rock Island where
he received degrees in psychology and chemistry. At Augie,
he played on the tennis team and basketball team, as he had done
in high school.
But once he graduated from college, the fireworks began.
Vietnam was boiling over, and Gene wanted conscientious objector
status, something he says the draft board was equally adamant
about not giving to him. "That turned my life in a whole
different direction."
Gene persevered and spent the next four years volunteering for
the Peace Corps performing social service work. His first
year was extreme culture shock. He worked in the South
Bronx as a block organizer and with gangs. The following
year, he worked on Chicago's South side teaching inner-city
youth. The next two years, Gene and his wife, Vicki, whom
he met at Augie, went to Malaysia. There, she worked at a
rural women's clinic and Gene worked on malaria control.
"These were interesting times and it solidified our marriage,"
he said. The couple has been married for 42 years.
Upon leaving the Peace Corps, the young couple spent nine months
traveling around Asia and the Middle East. "We spent $3 a
day on average and lived for six weeks in an Israeli Kibbutz."
When they returned to the U.S., Gene and Vicki both attended
grad school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where
each majored in social work. After graduation, they stayed
in the area, and Gene worked as a social worker until he retired
last December after 37 years. Vicki retired last week
(June 2010) after 34 years as a school social worker.
The pair lives in Dexter, near Ann Arbor, and has three children
- Megan, 34 and Jared, 30. Tragically their daughter,
Erin, died at 16 in a one-car accident but, "She made a major
impact in her short life," Gene says.
Megan has two children, Maeryn, 2, named after her late
aunt and Dresden "Drey," who is only two months old. Both of
their children live near them so they are able to see their
children and grandchildren frequently. "I babysit at least
once a week and that keeps me grounded."
Gene was also a teacher. He taught conflict and peace
resolution to Vietnam Vets at Wayne State University in Detroit.
"The truth is, we taught each other."
The couple have a cabin in the lower part of the Upper Peninsula
in Michigan and staying there is one of their favorite things to
do. Now that they are foot loose and fancy free, they have
to decide how they want to spend all of their newly found free
time.
Gene says during high school he felt close to a lot of people:
especially Pete Ortez, Dennis Peterson, Kent Arnold and Dick
Hawkenberry. "One regret is I didn't reach out to some of
the really sharp, bright girls in our class, but I lacked
confidence and maturity," he explained.
He said he did take Kathy Andrews to the Jr. prom and Ina Karish
to the Sr. prom, and he happily recalls those events.
Other memorable moments include chemistry class. He says
the teacher was young and the class had spun out-of-control.
Fed up, the novice instructor threatened to give everyone a "D,"
which did not go over well. Gene says he thinks the
brouhaha wound up at the school board.
Like most others, Gene attended the dances after the games and
remembers how much he loved the music. Also like so many,
he stood around and did a lot of watching from the sidelines
He says the experience was mostly a vicarious one for him.
Mr. Peterson, a math teacher was his favorite instructor.
He was in an advanced math class and said math did not come
easily to him. He fondly recalls Mr. Peterson's
patience.
Because Gene was on the basketball team, he played at the
University of Illinois in Champagne at the state championship.
"It was an unbelievable empty feeling when we lost We
didn't believe we could," he said.
Gene hopes to make it to the next reunion and he said, " I would
love to hear from anybody who would like to email me and catch
up on your life."
utkegr@aol.com
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