"Gene"

Eugene Jennings Hauptly was born Sept. 8, 1926 to Clara Waula Hauptly and John Hauptly in McCallsburg, Ia, joining his sister, Jeanette. Eugene graduated McCallsburg High School in 1944, then enlisted in the Army Air Corp in Sept. 1944 after turning 18. He was stationed stateside for the remainder of WWII. After discharge in 1946, Gene attended Ellsworth Community College, graduating with his associates degree. He was employed with National Cash Cash Register, fixing cash registers and ATM machines until retiring in Feb. 1994. Gene married Kathryn Rose Savage Sept.1,1956. They built the only home they ever lived in in 1958 and were blessed with two children, Linda Kay in May 1960, and Michael John in Jan 1963. Gene took great pride in his family and in maintaining his home. He was part of the pit crew for Bob Malechek and his race car. Race cars and mechanics were Gene's favorite hobbies. He could fix anything mechanical and was also a meticulous woodworker. He and the family took many camping trips to Colorado and South Dakota. Gene and Kate, along with good friends, Sherrill and Rachel Hegland, took several trips to many places, including Las Vegas, Hawaii, Alaska, and Norway. Each summer our "Bond Reunion", was held at either the Hegland's or the Hauptly's with Bill Bond and family. In 2007, Gene and Sherrill were part of the Honor Flight to Washington D.C. Gene and Kate were blessed with two grandsons, Jared Michael, in 1986, and Ryan Eugene, in 1989. He was enormously proud of both, even more so as they grew in their mechanical skills. They inherited their grandpa's "I know a guy" quality. Gene joyously rejoined his parents, John and Clara, and his son Michael on July 23rd, 2022. He is survived by his loving wife Kate, daughter Linda (Dean) Baldwin, grandsons Jared (Chelsea, Ian, Emily) McRill, Ryan (Kaylinn, Kyler, Kameron) McRill, along with Dean's kids, Brad and Aubry Baldwin, Amanda (Blake, Liam, Camden, Emme) Hansen, Ben (Megan, Brinnley, Connor) Baldwin, sister Jeanette (Gear) Bahle, nieces Susan Higgins, Nancy (Bernie) Bogard, Anita Bahle (Jerry) Slack, and many great nieces and nephews. . Services for Gene will take place on Saturday, August 13 at 10:30 a.m. at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home. A visitation will take place prior to the service, beginning at 9:00 a.m. He will be laid to rest at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens. Full military honors will be provided by the combined VFW / American Legion Honor Guard of the surrounding area. For full obituary or to leave a condolence, please visit www.mitchellfh.com. Ph 641-844-1234. For those unable to attend, services will be available at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell-Family-Funeral-Home-99280714047/. Please be patient as not all services begin promptly at the start time. If there are any technical difficulties with the livestream, a recording of the services will be uploaded to the page at a later time. Thank you for understanding!