Julius "Gene" Petty's Obituary
Dr. Julius ‘Gene’ Petty passed away on June 5 at the age of 84. Gene earned a BA at Ouachita Baptist University and a PhD at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He participated in the ROTC at Ouachita and won many awards, including one for expert marksmanship. (Gene inherited his sharpshooting abilities from his father, who is a member of the Trapshooting Hall of Fame in Sparta, IL). After earning his PhD, Gene served as a pastor of Baptist churches in Arkansas and Texas for 20 years. He loved the Bible, especially Old Testament scholarship and the Hebrew and Greek languages. Gene subsequently taught at Ouachita. His students appreciated his fondness for going off on tangents (or, as he liked to say, ‘chasing rabbits’). He ended his career as a counselor for substance use disorders at Eastman Chemical Co. He often participated with his Eastman coworkers in sporting clays tournaments, helping his teams to several awards.
Gene was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He cherished his wife, Shirley, even trying to hold hands on their first date! (Shirley didn’t allow this.) They often visited First Monday Trade Days in Canton, TX where Gene would usually head straight for the kettle corn stand. Shirley appreciated Gene’s handiness around the house. One time Gene and his grandson Josh built a doggie door and Gene tricked Josh into thinking that they had built the door on the top instead of the bottom! They hadn’t, but everyone got a big kick out of the joke. His children have fond memories of fishing for ‘Friday surprises’ (candy) behind the couch, a tradition that they passed on to their children. He is preceded in death by his son (Jay) and is survived by his wife (Shirley), daughters Julie (Jim) and Joye (Wally), daughter-in-law (Sai), seven grandchildren, and one great-grandson.
Gene lived a life dedicated to God and people, with a gentle and often humorous embrace of the challenges and uncertainties of life. He will be deeply missed by many, and we look forward to sharing with him one day in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.
A graveside service will be held at Rosewood Park on Thursday, June 9, 2022 at 11 a.m.
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