Charles Eugene “Gene” Dunham, 85, of Louisville, Kansas, died Monday, June 7, 2010, in Kansas, Oklahoma.  He was a long-time resident of Louisville until moving to Oklahoma in 2008.

Gene was born February 27, 1925, in Sioux City, Iowa, the son of Charles and Beatrice Kottman Dunham.  He was raised and attended school in Atchison, Kansas.  After his father’s death, he helped his mother support the family.  At 17 years old he joined the United States Navy and served during WWII and then again in the Korean War.

He met and married Muriel Lloyd in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on March 13, 1946.  She preceded him in death on November 11, 2001.  Gene was also preceded in death by his daughter, Sonia Lane, in 1982.

Gene was an electrician and worked as a civil servant at Fort Riley where he retired in 1978.  He and Muriel also owned and operated Muriel’s Country Inn in Louisville.  He was a member of Black Jack American Legion and the VFW.  He enjoyed playing pool, hunting, watching NASCAR, and going to the casino. Gene enjoyed fishing and then eating his catch. He also loved to play and joke with his grandchildren.

He is survived by his two daughters, Patricia Ann Dunham, Kansas, Oklahoma and Gail Marie Fairchild and her husband, Ray Gene, Wamego; two sons, Raymond Eugene Dunham and his wife, Rosie, Kansas City, Kansas and Charles Eugene Dunham, Jr., Kansas, Oklahoma; two sisters, Shirley Hill of Washington state and Betty Munson, Kansas City, Missouri; 11 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren