WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
GENE KENNETH ASAY
(grew up in St. George; died while serving in the U. S. Air Force)
BIOGRAPHY
Gene Kenneth Asay was born in Clawson, Emery County, Utah on May 29, 1933.The family moved to St. George about 1934 or 1935. Gene attended St. George Elementary School,
Woodward Junior High School, Dixie High School, and one year at Dixie Junior College.
Gene played the trumpet. He was interested in baseball and basketball. And for a while, he worked as a
service station attendant at Lynn Asay's (his brother's) Phillips 66 station in Provo.
Gene entered the U. S. Air Force in October of 1952. He was sent to Scotland in December of 1953 where he
was assigned security work. In his spare time, he was a member of the first baseball team
to play in Kirk Newton, Scotland.
On July 5, 1956, Gene drowned in a boating accident on Lake Monteith in Scotland. The dinghy he was in
capsized with three other U.S. Airmen and two Scotsmen. Gene, another airman, and the two Scotsmen
drowned while two airmen managed to swim to shore.
Gene's body was recovered from the lake and was returned home by the Air Force. Funeral services were held
on July 23, 1956 in the St. George 4th Ward. He was buried in Plot C_13_4_1 of the St. George City Cemetery.
FAMILY
|
Parents and Siblings:
Jerome "Lome" Asay, Jr. Mary Louise Jensen Asay Lynn J. Asay Mary Adell "Dell" Asay Gene Kenneth Asay |
(2/29/1888-1/29/1964) (married xx/xx/xxxx) (12/2/1893-2/23/1977) (8/15/1920-7/13/2009) (married Nellie Judd) (9/21/1923-3/25/2013) (married Bill Empey, Ernest Hartwell, and James McDowell Barnes) (5/29/1933-7/5/1956) |
PHOTOS
 WCHS-03823 Gene |
 Gene and his parents |
REFERENCES
Find-A-Grave entry for Gene Kenneth AsayShort biography of Gene Kjarulf (error) Asay
From the Gene Asay "In Memoriam" article inside the Dixie High School Class of 1951 pamphlet/brochure
for their 50th class reunion held in 2001. It includes a simplified version.
Boating Accident
UP Article from Perth, Scotland, July 6, 1956.