GREEN VALLEY, Ariz.

Gene Lowell Waldkoetter, 83, of Green Valley, Arizona, and formerly of Jackson County, died Monday, April 13, 2015, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Tucson, Arizona.

He was a member of Grace Sahuarita Lutheran Church in Arizona. 

Gene was born May 12, 1931, in Brownstown and attended Immanuel Lutheran grade school and Shields High School in Seymour. He also attended Purdue University and Valparaiso Technical Institute in Indiana. Following graduation, he moved to Richland, Washington, to work in instrumentation at the Hanford nuclear complex.

He was employed by General Electric, Battelle, Westinghouse and the Washington Power Supply System for a period of 40 years, all at Hanford. He worked 14 years in support of nuclear fuels programs and 26 years in nuclear power plant design. Although he held a professional engineering license from the state of Washington, his entire career was spent in instrumentation. He retired from WPPSS in 1991 as principal instrument and control engineer.

In 1996, he moved to Green Valley, Arizona. While residing in the communities of Richland and West Richland, he was an active member of Redeemer Lutheran Church, holding many offices and leading adult Bible classes. For six years, he worked in support of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Benton City, Washington. Gene also held numerous offices at Grace Lutheran Sahuarita. He was also an active member of the Instrument Society of America and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Gene served on the board of directors of Western Sintering Co. in Richland, Washington.

Gene is survived by his wife of 61 years, Doreen; daughter and son-in-law, Gale and Cal Skaugstad, Fairbanks, Alaska; and sister, LaRue Berens of Terre Haute.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ray and Linda Waldkoetter.

Services were held at Grace Lutheran Sahuarita on Saturday.

Memorial contributions may be mailed to Grace Sahuarita Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 1279, Sahuarita, AZ 85629.