Eugene Edward Heape

Eugene E. Heape, loving husband, father and grandfather, passed away peacefully at home in Oxnard, CA with family at his side on March 15, 2019, at the age of 64. Although cancer was the cause of Gene's path to our Lord Jesus Christ, anyone privileged to know Gene will remember not how he left but how he lived.

Born May 14, 1954, in Tenjo Vista, Guam to Jack and Delores Heape, Gene was the youngest of four children. He attended elementary school at Mount Carmel School in Guam and George Dewey in the Philippines when his father, working for the Navy, moved the family. Gene attended Singapore American School and graduated from Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove, CA in 1972. After high school he returned to Guam to begin his career as a telephone mechanic for the U.S Navy as a civilian. In 1978 he returned to the mainland to continue his career as a technician with GTE, Verizon, Americast, retiring in 2018 from Frontier Communications. He built special friendships along the way and held several highly skilled positions throughout the years.

He met the love of his life, Cathy, while working at GTE when Cathy's boss asked Gene to fix his secretary's phone. They married a year later in 1989 and called Ventura County home for over 30 years.

Gene was a passionate, generous and hard working family man who valued respect, loyalty and friendship. He had a reputation for making an impression, always there to give advice, and ready to lend a helping hand. He loved camping, fishing and hunting, always looking for opportunities to teach the grandkids everything he knew. The grandkids love him dearly.

He will be sadly missed by his wife Catherine and his children Charleen Heape, Jackie (Arnold) Morales, Christina (Matthew) McCullough, Charles (Jamie) McCune, Lisa (Tim) Kilcoyne, and grandchildren, Jordan, Grace, Rachael, Eli, Lucas, Ethan, Kara, Kati, Morgan, Drake, Charlie, Arlo, his father Jack Heape, brother Joe (Vicky) Heape and sister Darlene Hertdner.

Gene was preceded in death by his mother Delores Heape and brother Danny Heape.