E.E. "GENE" UNDERWOOD obituary

E.E. "Gene" Underwood, age 78, passed away on Friday, March 5, 2010. Gene was born in Helena, Mont., on Oct. 5, 1931, to Benjamin F. and Marie S. Underwood. He spent his youth in Havre, Mont. He entered the U.S. Navy as an enlisted man at age 18 and served with distinction during the Korean War. At the end of his enlisted service he became an officer in the U.S. Navy and remained in the Naval Reserve until 1967. He will be missed by his family and remembered by the many thousands of Utah State University students who earnestly enjoyed taking math classes from him through the years. Professor Underwood was honored by his students as "Professor of the Year" on more than one occasion. Gene is survived by his children Robert, Gregory, Cheryl and Thomas, and his grandchildren Benjamin and Elise. His one true passion, other than his wife, Lydia, of 50 years, was fly fishing. Beyond that he enjoyed skiing, golfing, tennis, archery, hiking, camping and other outdoor activities. Gene and Lydia both taught skiing for many years at Beaver Mountain and also Snowbasin. After receiving his master's degree in mathematics from the University of lllinois at Urbana-Champaign he accepted a professorship at USU. His specialty was in the areas of linear algebra and matrix theory. He remained a professor at USU throughout his teaching career until his retirement. During the mid- 1980s, he worked for Thiokol Corp. as part of a summer sabbatical program in the area of applied mathematics for the Space Shuttle Booster Program. A memorial service for anyone who wishes to attend will be held at the Logan City Cemetery on Friday, March 26, 2010, at 2 p.m. Anyone who is unable to attend or who may not wish to is welcome to share thoughts and memories of Gene in the online blog http://home. Comcast.net/~bobu/site/?/ blog/view/2/. In lieu of flowers you may make a contribution to one of the following charities: The Nature Conservancy, UNICEF or Utah State University.