Gene W. Chaplin, 78, of Blair, died Tuesday, June 29, 2004, at Crowell Memorial Home in Blair.

Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 6, at Campbell-Aman Funeral Home in Blair. No visitation will be held.

Gene W. Chaplin was born Jan. 2, 1926, in Garden Grove, Calif., to Oscar and Frances (Sanders) Chaplin. He graduated fro Shandon High School in Shandon, Calif. He was married to Dorothy Mae Martin.

Mr. Chaplin was a free spirit. He loved to get in the car and “just go.” He enjoyed seeing and being on the open highway, and loved visiting with new people. His family will remember that “you could hardly get him off the CB radio. His handle was “Chappy.” His family thinks that may be why he enjoyed driving trucks and notes that after he retired, he would drive tour busses to keep himself busy.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, of Blair; son, John of Evansville, Ind.; daughters, Susan Bigley of Jonestown, Texas, Eda Chaplin of Omaha; sister, Marjorie Bower of Florence, Ore., and Viola Stiles of Redding, Calif.

He was preceded in death by a brother, Clarence.