William Eugene “Gene” Stubblefield

William Eugene “Gene” Stubblefield of Temple, formerly of Liberty, was born in Houston on September 25, 1933, to Aileen Anderson and Rouse William Stubblefield. He passed away on February 28, 2022, in Temple after a brief illness.
Gene was a graduate of Liberty High School (1952) and Texas A&M College (1956), a member of the Aggie Corps of Cadets, and a dedicated Aggie his entire life. A lifelong Episcopalian, he was a member of Christ Church, Temple. He was also an Eagle Scout, and a member of the Order of the Arrow.
For the first six years of his life, Gene’s family lived a gypsy existence. His father was a “land man” for Gulf Oil, and they traveled all over Texas and Louisiana, searching for new fields. They seldom lived more than 3 months in any one place, but they lived in Liberty seven times during their wanderings, and made friends here. When it was time for him to start school, Gene’s parents knew they needed to settle, so they bought a house in Houston, and there they stayed until 1946.
At that time, they bought a two-story farmhouse outside Devers, loaded it on a truck and moved it to North Heights in Liberty. It had no plumbing or electricity, and they had left the separate kitchen on the farm in Devers. While living in an apartment, Gene (age 13), his father and his younger brother Charles put in bathrooms and electricity, built the kitchen and dining room, and turned that house into a home that held lots of love and laughter for many years. This is where Gene learned to solve problems when there seemed no solution, that work was important and rewarding, and that family was all.
When Gene was a senior at Texas A & M, he married his sweetheart, Carolyn Morrow. After he graduated, he worked for Goodrich Gulf, and after a few months took up his commission in the U.S. Air Force. He served in the Air Force for five years. After the Air Force, he worked for Union Carbide, then for Haveg, and finally started his own engineering company. For many years he built equipment from fiberglass for the oil field, agriculture and militaries all over the world. For the last 30 or so years, he designed such equipment for other fabricators to build. During the early years of their marriage, Gene and Carolyn lived the carefree life of young marrieds, traveling and enjoying each other. After a few years they added their children Eric and Susan, and later Christian, to their family and, like Gene’s parents, they settled down for long periods, first in Houston, then in Liberty, briefly in Belton and Bandera, then back to Liberty.
In 2003 he lost his love Carolyn after a lengthy illness, during which he showed the ultimate in love and dedication to her well-being.
In 2004, he married Glennda Hardin, and life’s adventures began again. They traveled some, were very involved in St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and enjoyed family and friends. Glennda became ordained deacon in the Church, and Gene supported her in everything she did both inside the walls and outside. In 2019, they moved to Temple, where they remained until his passing. While he never wished to take the place of her children’s father, still he accepted them as the people they are, and opened his big heart to them without holding back.
Gene loved people. He loved to talk with them, to laugh with them, to solve problems with them. Anytime he heard of someone’s misfortune, his first question was, “How can I help?” He lived a full and active life, right up until the end. On the day he went into the hospital, he was repairing a gate at his home.
He was preceded in death by his parents, by his brother Charles and Charles’s wife Cathy, by his first wife Carolyn, by his son Christian, his grandsons Stephen Campbell and Gryphon Perry, and his son-in-law Greg Mohr.
He is survived by his wife, the Rev. Glennda Hardin, his son Eric Stubblefield (Cheryl) of Dayton, his daughter Susan Mohr of Scottsdale, AZ, stepsons Derek Cross (Annette Galluccia) of Kerhonkson, NY, Jeremy Cross (Misty) of Trinity, TX, stepdaughter Sara Cross Te (Peter), of Burnet and Amber Salas (Aaron Otka) of Tomball. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, and a number of nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 2042 Trinity, on March 12, at 10:00 AM, with The Rev. Rhonda Rogers and The Rev. Ted Smith officiating. Interment of ashes will follow at the Devore-Stubblefield Cemetery at the corner of Edgewood and Bowie in Liberty.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to GRACE Initiative of South Liberty County, PO Box 10397, Liberty, TX 77575; Un-Included Club of Temple, 1000 S. Knob St., Temple, TX 76501; the Texas A& M Foundation, 400 Harvey Mitchell Parkway South, Ste. 300, College Station, 77845, designated for student scholarships; or the charity of your choice.