Eugene Maurice Wellsfry

Eugene Maurice Wellsfry, son of Edna Bernice Wellsfry and Walter Samuel Wellsfry, was born on August 12, 1925 in Sacramento, California. Most of his childhood was spent on the family farm acreage in Paradise, CA. He was the fourth of eight boys. He helped his father with his sign painting business through high school and learned to play the violin.

In his senior year he came to know Christ as his Savior and because of the dramatic change in his life, most of the family members made the same choice. Desiring to serve the Lord he chose to complete a Missions degree at BIOLA, where he met his future wife, Earlene. He then studied for three years at Chico State College, completing a Major in English and a Minor in Spanish.

He married Earlene Lowell on June 17, 1949. After pastoring in a small church, they began to pursue plans to serve in missions in Brazil. While in Brazil he and Earlene directed and taught in a Bible School for nationals and worked in various churches and youth camps. After eight years they returned to the States with four young children.

Upon their return, Gene taught Spanish in Van Nuys, Ca. and also earned his Masters’ degree at USC. In 1965 the family moved to Laguna Beach, where he eventually became department head at Newport Harbor High School. Eugene was proficient in five different languages. In the summers, he painted houses and did sign lettering and painting.

After retirement Gene stayed busy managing apartments that they owned, doing projects around the house, reading, and doing many acts of kindness for family and friends. He also served with Child Evangelism and The Gideon’s. Following Earlene’s death on May 6, 2010, Gene continued to live at Villa Valencia Senior Living Complex in Laguna Hills where they had resided since the prior September. In August he left the Complex visiting and living with various children and blessing them with his presence.

He passed quietly into the presence of the Lord at his son Earle’s home in Laguna Beach on November 9, 2010 at the age of 85. He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Earlene, three brothers, and a granddaughter. He is survived by four brothers, four children and their spouses, fourteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren.