Lt. Colonel Eugene B. Lanier III USAF Ret.

Nov. 6, 1939 – Dec. 27, 2020

With full military honors, the cremains of Eugene B. Lanier were laid to rest May 2, 2022, at Willamette National Cemetery, near Portland, Oregon. The service was attended by his wife of 38 years, Cindy. He selected this location, in view of Mount Hood, while visiting the grave of his wife’s Mother in 1983. COVID restrictions had delayed his interment.

His military career took him to several locations around the United States, with a tour in Vietnam, Germany, and his last duty station in Athens, Greece.

After Greece, he and his wife retired to Oregon. Together they traveled over 800,000 miles in Rvs, crisscrossing the United States and Canada several times, side by side with their beloved pets. Gene began each trip with his favorite song “On The Road Again,” by Willie Nelson.

Included in their travels were several seasons working in Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rainier NP, Teton NP, and St. Gaudens NHS. He loved to quote Robert Louis Stevenson, “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”

As the daughter of a career military father, and never having had a “hometown,” it was his wife’s decision to move to Holly Springs, MS. When not traveling, he spent much of his time rescuing numerous cats and dogs, and feeding a variety of woodland creatures. For over 20 years, he was the ‘go-to’ narrator for Christmas and Easter cantatas at the First United Methodist Church of Holly Springs, MS. Gene’s heart was always in the mountain west.

He would say of his wife, Cindy that “she is the love of my life, my best friend, and life’s travel companion.” When asked how long they had been married, he would always answer, “not long enough.”

He is at last at rest, in a home for all seasons, in mountain greenery.

Paid obituary