In Memory of Leland Eugene Glover (Gypsy Gene)

Jan. 30, 1932 – Feb. 13, 2024

After 92 years, Leland Eugene Glover has finally come to the end of his travels and was buried today under a a live-oak tree and a bright blue February sky. Gene will be mourned by his wife Riki, his son Tom and grandson Brandon, and their wives and families. Also mourning Gene will be his brother Jerry and sister Sissy and their families, as well as extended family and friends in the US and Germany.

Gene was born in Omaha, Nebraska during the Great Depression and left home as a teenager to join the Coast Guard and find his own way in the world. At 28, he married the love of his life, Riki, and they celebrated 63 anniversaries before being separated by his death. They made homes in various places like California, Colorado, New Mexico, Washington, and Arizona, before finally settling in Tomball, Texas in 2015 to be near Tom and his family.

Gene was a proud father, grandfather, and for the last several years, a great-grandfather. He worked hard to ensure that his son Tom could get a college education, the first one in their family.

An industrial electrician by trade, Gene was a 65-year member of IBEW and well-respected in the brotherhood of electrical workers. He was a lead electrician on many large projects, including office buildings, hospitals, transmission substations, and all along the Alyeska pipeline, from the North Slope to Anchorage. A workplace accident ended his career at 60, enabling him to retire early and spend more time with his family. Nicknamed Gypsy Gene for his curiosity and wanderlust, Gene’s many hobbies including international travel, exploring cuisines and traditions of different cultures, fishing and hunting, prospecting for gold in the Arizona desert with the Roadrunners, and vegetable gardening. He also loved to tell stories and corny jokes. 

No remembrance of Gene would be complete without a mention of his love for baseball—the New York Yankees were his favorite team—and his lap dogs, Bambi the Chihuahua who lived almost two decades, and most recently, Dolly, a tiny Yorkshire terrier with a giant personality. Dolly proceeded Gene in death, and they are now reunited.

Gene was my father-in-law, and he will be missed. RIP, Gypsy Gene.

© 2024, Glover Gardens