Gene D. McCain "Bhuta"

Bhuta and Grandma in Washington

Bhuta and Oliver last October at the ALS walk

Grandma and Bhuta in Seattle 2008

Oliver and Bhuta- they had a really special relationship

Grandma and Oliver during Mommie's Race in January 2008

Bhuta took the picture

Happy Grandparents

Proud Bhuta

Baby Oliver watching....

Mommy and Bhuta filling spider legs with leaves for a Halloween Decoration 2007

Gene with the love of his life, Michele 2007

Bhuta

Daddy and Bhuta picking berries in Trinidad, CA 2004

Bhuta and Grandma with Oliver (he was only about 3 days old)

Daddy and Bhuta in Yosemite

Gene D. McCain “Bhuta”
5/4/49-10/1/09

A loving father, husband, and Bhuta is at peace now. We will miss him so much.

Some Memories of Bhuta:

1. Oliver called him Bhuta in place of Grandpa. It started when we moved back to California and the name stuck, he will always be Oliver’s, “Bhuta.”

2. Gene loved to shop for antiques, always choosing the unique and different things, like tools, old traffic light thingies, baseball gloves, bats and more. He should spend hours in a “junk shop.”

3. He enjoyed eating popcorn. One time he surprised Mommy with a big bag of kettle corn, he had it hiding under a blanket in his car, it was just what Mommy needed when she was nine months pregnant with Oliver!

4. Gene climbed to the peak of Mt. Whitney and back in one day with Daddy. An amazing feat, which made both of them very, very proud.

5. He loved to ride his bike to La Costa Canyon High School and watch football and baseball games. He would also treat himself to his other favorite, a hot dog!

6. On the day of Oliver’s birth, Gene was going to hike out to a ghost town in Western Washington, but then he found out Mommy was in labor. So instead he welcomed his new grandson. But that is just an example of what an adventurer he was, and usually mixing some type of history into his adventures!

7. From the hospital window, when Mommy was in labor she could see Gene hopping through the parking lot with the love of his life beside him---both filled with excitement about the arrival of their grandson, Oliver Owen.

8. Gene loved to pick berries- in Humboldt and in Washington. It was hard to drag him away from the berry bushes.

9. He and Grandma called Mommy on one of her birthdays in Humboldt at 7:00 in the morning and sang the Happy Birthday Song!

10. On the road from Sequim, Washington Gene entertained the whole car with non-stop quips about cowboys, rodeos, hot dogs, and ice cream. Grandma and Mommy were in stitches and Oliver was in awe of his Bhuta.

11. Gene always had a project going- whether it was in the yard, on a car, something at his little station in the garage, where he had his country music and rock n’ roll playing…or with the church helping others, he was an amazing person.

12. After a bad car accident on the way to helping Mommy and Daddy move to Humboldt, Gene’s car was totaled, his back was sore, but his spirits were high. In an old tool shop in Buttonwillow, CA waiting for the tow truck- Gene pulled out 3 humongous peaches and shared them with us. It was a symbol for something more- Something Gene saw in those peaches was important and the sweetness carried us the rest of the way to Humboldt. (Mommy is still thinking of those peaches as a symbol of Bhuta’s well lived life.)

13. In Mommy’s 3rd ½ marathon, Gene mapped out a spectator map for himself, Grandma, and Oliver. They waved me off at the start line, met me at the ½ way mark, and at the finish line (they really had to rush to get to all those places, especially with a 6 month old baby in tow!) Gene befriended the LCC Cheerleaders at the finish line, and as Mommy raced by at the last few hundred yards, Mommy saw him and Grandma with my baby boy, cheering for me and heard the LCC Cheerleaders cheering me on by first name! Thanks to the best father-in-law ever! His spirit and the memories of that day have carried me through every race I’ve done-

14. He made friends wherever we went. It was always pretty funny, Daddy might ask, “Where’s Dad?” And you would look back and he would be talking to some “strangers.” But to Gene, those “strangers” were friends! He was an amazing person!

15. In Washington when Bhuta and Grandma would visit, they would ask for Oliver in the morning when we all woke up. Mommy and Daddy would give Oliver to Grandma and Bhuta and they would spend awhile in their room waking up with a little cute baby. This tradition continued when we moved home last summer, and is one of the sweetest things ever….Oliver loves his Bhuta and Grandma.

16. He lived the last year of his life with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) and he always carried a positive spirit, a love for his family, and a strong and deep love for his grandson.

We are very sad that our Bhuta is gone, but we know he is at peace. We love you to the moon and back Bhuta.

These are mostly memories of Mommies- written for Oliver. Please add a memory or two of your own for Oliver and for all of us…..