Eugene Joseph Gervais

Eugene (Gene) Joseph Gervais, aged 94, of Garden Grove, California passed away on February 19, 2025 at Ivy Park Assisted Living in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Gene was born on October 14, 1930, to parents Ernest and Clara Gervais in Manville, Rhode Island. Gene was born and raised in Manville along with his five siblings. He was married to Irene Desmarais (Gervais) in 1951. They were married for 23 years and had three children together - Ron, Nancy and Jeff. Gene relocated to Southern California in 1957 where he spent the remainder of his life.

As a young boy, Gene served as an altar boy at St. James Church in Manville, RI. He was a proud Eagle Scout and the first boy to earn the Eagle Scout Award in the state of Rhode Island. He was also a member of the Manville Drum and Bugle Corp where he served as a drummer. Gene grew up during the Great Depression in Rhode Island and worked many odd jobs including being a shoeshine boy. He was also a veteran of the United States Air Force and proudly served his country during the Korean War.

Gene had a long, successful career working for Rockwell International where he served as a Quality Control Engineer. He was recognized numerous times over the span of his career and earned many awards for his excellent contributions to the space program. One of his greatest accomplishments was his extensive work on the Command Module that was used during the historic Apollo 11 Mission to the Moon in July 1969.

Gene enjoyed many hobbies including traveling, fishing, camping, collecting light houses, leather crafting and being a Boy Scout Troop Leader. He was very much a “do it yourself” man and enjoyed working on projects, fixing things and giving his time to others. He was very hard working, generous, kind and enjoyed sharing his time and resources with his family.

Gene was preceded in death by his parents, his three brothers and two sisters. He leaves behind a loving family who will miss him dearly: the mother of his children, Irene Gervais, his children Ron (Rhonda) Gervais, Nancy (John) Ross and Jeff (Lisa) Gervais, his grandchildren Lauren, Erin, Emily, Johnathan, Paul, Laurence, Eugene, Crista, and Jeff Jr., and eight great-grandchildren.

His funeral service will be held at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Lake Forest, California on March 29, 2025, beginning with a rosary service at 10:30am and mass at 11:00am. An interment of ashes ceremony will follow at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest, California.