I am sure many of you are experiencing changes in your lives. This past weekend was a weekend of incredible changes in the lives of those that have known Gene Lovi and Byron Whipple – two icons of exemplary service to our community and two men I feel privileged to have known. It is tough loosing people like these two.

Each has been a leader in our community provided inspiration to make us want to be better people. Each with such wonderful human characteristics and now each have left legacies that will never be forgotten.

I have known Gene Lovi my entire life. He would come by our business to possibly purchase some tires but his visit was much more than a sale. He would always come in and share old stories about the times he had with my parents and how much they meant to him. Those times my parents spent with him trapshooting were great days for all of them.

He would tell me about the wonderful times he was sharing with his grandchildren going to their baseball games and rooting for them while feeling so proud of each and every one of them.

My brother has told me the memories he has from Gene being his baseball coach and how he affected his life.

Wow I remember that incredible smile of his with the dimples and his shorts with his very fit legs taking off to play tennis. I remember him being there in times when I had a loss. I will really miss those visits from Gene and I will never forget them or his smile.

Byron Whipple was a friend since high school. Later I was reunited with him when I married my husband. Bob always had so many wonderful stories to tell me about the crazy life of Byron. The two of them became good friends during their water skiing days.

Byron and Johnny Belvail helped build Bob’s first home in Lakeport. It’s a wonder it ever was completed and as beautiful as it was due to their frequent celebrations. Bob shared with me how difficult it was to see his good friend hurt so badly.

He shared that when he visited him at the hospital he would lay on the floor underneath him to talk with him as they had him hanging in some contraption after his skiing accident and the only thing Byron could do was blink his eyes.

He went from someone that spoke by blinking his eyes to a business owner that gave back whenever he could to our community. I loved visiting him at his office as his office had wonderful childhood memories for me. My grandmother owned the house where City Center Realty is and I have many childhood family memories in my grandmother’s house.

I have loved the respect and care that the Whipple family has given to my grandmother’s home. Bob, Derek and I will always have respect and admiration for Byron. His picture will hang with the other wonderful people that have been part of our lives and we will always have stories to tell about Byron and the difference he made in our lives.

Life is ever-changing. Please look around you and make sure you appreciate your family and friends. Life can change in an instant. Both Gene and Byron have impacted the lives of so many and will be missed but always remembered.

Toni Funderburg lives in Lakeport, Calif.

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Written by: Toni Funderburg

Published: 07 September 2010