Charles Train

Charles Gene Train, 89, died December 8, 2011. Gene was born August 30, 1922 in Montrose, Colorado to Bliss and Adah Kootnz Train. His parents were native to Iowa and they returned to Dysart when Gene was in early grade school. The family moved to Waterloo when Bliss became a supervisor at Rath Packing Co. and Gene was in the 5^th grade.

Gene graduated from West High School, Waterloo, Iowa in 1940. His father died suddenly shortly after graduation and Gene was able to work at Rath to earn money for college. In the fall of 1942, he enrolled in Spartan College of Aeronautics, Tulsa, OK. During WWII, he was deferred from the draft because he was in a critical training program. In 1943 he qualified as a flight mechanic and was offered a job at Bechtel, McCone & Parsons in Birmingham, AL. The Bechtel Modification Center was a B24/25 bomber assembly operation that updated aircraft with the latest engineering changes. Near the end of the war, the first B29 bombers were brought to Birmingham for modification with the latest weapons, instruments, etc. In 1945, the pilot Paul Tibbits flew the Enola Gay, the B29 that dropped the Atom bomb at Hiroshima, to Bectal. Gene was part of the crew that reengineered the bomb bay for “Big Boy” and he participated in test flights with Pilot Tibbits. 

On June 4, 1944, Gene married his sweetheart Elaine Shannon, a graduate of ISTC, Cedar Falls, IA at the end of her first year of teaching Home Economics and Science at Fonda Iowa HS. The newly weds lived in Birmingham until wars end, and then moved to Belle Glade, FL where Elaine’s family owned and operated 1000 acre vegetable farms, canning, and packing operations. Gene’s first year, he farmed 350 acres of green beans for the family business and the next season was promoted to supervisor of the pre-cooler operation in the packinghouse. On March 23^rd, 1946 their first son, Charles Eugene was born in Pahokee, FL on Lake Okeechobee. 

Gene and Elaine decided to move back to Waterloo in the fall of 1946. Elaine’s grandfather, J.W. Rummells Jr. owned a semi-truck to transport vegetables to Iowa. Gene loaded their furniture and a load of watermelons and drove Grampa Rummells back to Iowa. Gene fondly remembered the experience, as it was somewhat of an adventure in the day, when there were no interstates, only two lane highways!

Gene’s father-in-law, Harry Shannon owned a ceramic tile store in Waterloo and Gene was trained along with his brother-in-law, George Appleby in the tile business. In April, 1950 another son, Robert Shannon was added to the family.

During the next few years Gene and Elaine enjoyed family life with Chuck and Bob, especially their summer camping trips to the Black Hills, Yellow Stone, Yosemite, Mesa Verde, and Disneyland in 1955.

In the spring of 1956, their love of camping led Gene to return to Colorado and the family ended up in Woodland Park where they purchased 20 acres of cow pasture to build a campground along with a 28 ft mobile home. At the time, it was the first privately owned campground in Colorado other than government owned facilities. The family built picnic tables, dug holes for toilet facilities, dug two wells for water, a reservoir, a shower house for hot showers and opened on July 1st charging $1.00 per car per night including firewood. The first week they averaged 50 cars each night which then grew to 150 by the end of the season in September. During the off seasons, Gene built a house with a with a wonderful view of Pikes Peak. In 1961, Woodland Park Campground was sold and the Trains returned to Cedar Falls where Gene assumed ownership of Duratile of Waterloo when Harry Shannon retired. 

Elaine enrolled in graduate school at State College of Iowa and Bob and Chuck attended the SCI Laboratory School. Elaine graduated with a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling and was hired by Cedar Falls High School. Chuck graduated in 1964 from SCI high school, and after a semester at SCI, he decided to join the Navy where he was a P3 sub patrol plane radioman stationed in Brunswick, ME. Bob graduated in 1968 from Cedar Falls High School and attended Wartburg College.

In 1971, Gene and Elaine moved to Key West, Florida working in a 350 site campground. After the winter season, they moved their 29 ft. travel trailer to St. Petersburg where Gene eventually purchased B & B Printing Company and operated it for 30 years.

Elaine’s cousin, Larry Tipton, introduced Gene and Elaine to Largo’s Harvest Temple and his prayer group that led them to a spiritual awakening of the Holy Spirit and a thirst for Jesus. They attended church at Harvest Temple where Gene served as an elder for fifteen years. Elaine taught at the Christian School for eight years, and later joined Gene at B & B Printing until they sold the business at age 83.

He is survived by his Elaine, loving and devoted wife of sixty-seven years; his sons Chuck (Julie) of Largo, Bob (Sandy) of Lexington, KY; six grandchildren Matthew, Joel, Benjamin, Samuel, Shannon, and Sara; four great grandchildren Zoe, Sebastian, Joshua, and Leia.

Memorial service is scheduled for 2:00PM on January 7^th, 2012 at Gulf Coast Church of Largo (formerly Harvest Temple), 13301 Walsingham Rd, Largo, FL 33774 with Pastor Randy Morris officiating.

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”