Veteran emblem in paper

Portrait in newspaper

Obituary printed in Sept. 21, 2001 Enterprise, Blair, Nebraska

Gene Solomon, 79

Memorial services for Gene Solomon, 79, of Blair, will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 24, 2001, at First United Methodist Church in Blair. Mr. Solomon died Wednesday, Sept. 19, at Memorial Community Hospital in Blair.

Eugene “Gene” Solomon was born July 3, 1922, in Culbertson to Ralph and Alma Solomon.

He joined the Army Air Corps in 1940, and served in the African, European, and Asian theaters. He graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1949, and worked for the USDA Soil Conservation Service in Minden, Alma and Scottsbluff.

He served as the district conservationist in Washington County from 1960 to 1979. During that time, he planted hundreds of acres in farm shelterbelts, farmstead windbreaks and wildlife habitat. At that time, the 8,000 acre DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge was new, and he was instrumental in the planning and supervision of plantings at the site.

Mr. Solomon had a great love and interest in the growing of trees and shrubs. After retirement in 1980, he took an active interest in the Blair parks, serving on the Black Elk-Neihardt Park Board and the city park board.

Many trees in the parks, schools, Dana College, and yards in Blair came from the Solomon nursery, which included more than 900 trees, representing 50 different conifer species.

Mr. Solomon was recognized for his efforts in 1996, when he received the Johnny Appleseed award from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. The prestigious award is given to an individual who embodies the gentle good nature of Johnny Appleseed through sustained personal involvement in tree planting in the state.

Mr. Solomon was a member of the Blair Horticulture Society, and was chapter president of the Soil Conservation Society of America.

Mr. Solomon was an accomplished woodworker who showed his artistic talent through the restoration of antique furniture and making items using the lathe. His love of music included participation in the Blair Melody Men, Pathfinder Barbershop Chorus and the United Methodist Church Choir.

He was married to Edith Pumphrey in 1947. In addition to his wife, he is survived by four children and four grandchildren. They include son and daughter-in-law, Cliff and Pam Solomon of Seattle, Wash., daughters and sons-in-law, Carol and Ron Smith of Colorado Springs, Colo., Carried and Daniel Schultz of Lincoln, and Christy and James Bruner, also of Lincoln, two brothers, Jerry Solomon of Lincoln and Jim Solomon of Puyallup, Wash.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Blair First United Methodist Church or Memorial Community Hospital in Blair.

~~~~~Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair, Nebraska library.~~~~

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