Final Salute

Gene Tooley, age 83 of Sioux Falls, SD passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, July 24, 2021 in Sioux Falls. His Funeral Service will be at 10:00 AM Friday, July 30, 2021 at George Boom Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory, Sioux Falls. Visitation will be on Thursday, July 29, 2021 at the funeral home from 5:00 – 7:00 PM. Burial will take place at Hills of Rest Cemetery following the funeral, with full military honors.

FOR A LIVESTREAM OF GENE’S FUNERAL, PLEASE CLICK HERE CLOSER TO 10 AM.

Eugene Joseph Tooley was born on May 29, 1938 to Lloyd and Cecelia (Vondrachek) Tooley in Valley City, ND. At the age of 2 the family moved to Dallas, SD before eventually residing in Beresford, SD. Gene left school after 9th grade to drive delivery trucks. With the encouragement and written permission for early enlistment from his father, Lloyd, Gene enlisted in the United States Army on May 31, 1955 in Sioux Falls, SD. He finished jump school and was assigned to the 11th Airborne Division in Augsburg & Munich. He received his GED from University of Maryland, Munich in 1956 and an honorary diploma from Beresford High School in 2020. Gene was honorably discharged from the Army on May 16, 1958 in Ft. Sheridan, IL.

Upon his return to Sioux Falls he joined the South Dakota Air National Guard and was honorably discharged in 1963. His was enlisted in the South Dakota Naval Reserves from 1966 to 1976, and his final military enlistment was as a US Naval Reserve SeaBee from 1976 to 1993. During his time in the SeaBees he helped develop a nationwide Heavy Equipment Roadeo that still holds competitions today. This idea was based largely on his experience with the South Dakota and National Truck Roadeo. Gene retired as an E6 after having declined higher command commendation promotions to Chief two separate times.

From the age of 8 years old his dream was to drive truck for Wilson Truck Company. Gene would go each morning to highway 77 in Beresford and wait for the Wilson truck drivers to go past and honk before hustling to school. There were many tardies received because of that!  Upon returning from his service in the Army he applied and was told he was too small to work for Wilson. Never one to give up he got a job as a package van delivery driver and his ability to do what needed to be done however it needed to be done to get it done caught the attention of the Wilson front office as he delivered packages to the docks one day. They offered him a job on the spot and his dream was fulfilled. Gene continued to work for Wilson Trucking/All-American Trucking/American Freight until the company filed bankruptcy in 1988. In 1983 Gene competed in the South Dakota Truck Roadeo where he took First Place in the Straight Truck Division and was awarded the Rookie of the Year Award. On the national level he competed in Fort Worth, TX where he took 2nd place in the Straight Truck Division. He finished his driving career with ABF, eventually retiring from trucking in 1998. He continued to volunteer with the South Dakota Truck Roadeo and was a trucking instructor with SouthEast Area VoTech for a short time as well. After retiring Gene worked in maintenance for Splitrock Township until health issues forced a full retirement in 2010.

Gene served as a Boy Scout Commissioner from 1966 to 1969 when he became Scout Master for Troop 216 until 1983. He was awarded Scout Master of the Year in 1976. He enjoyed staying in touch with many of the men who went through his troop over the years and is proud of what many of them have gone on to accomplish with the training they received in Scouts.

He often looked for ways to invest in others and many of his involvements were due to wanting to serve alongside siblings, friends and his children. Gene would say he was only able to accomplish all he did due to the love of his life, his wife, Lucy. Gene lived out his faith differently than Lucy, but he would see God’s hand at work in many ways as he drove, worked with others, and experienced life through all his involvements. He was known to say, while showing snapshots from his time on the road, “come and see what God did today!”

In recent years, Gene was a member of the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans. His proudest moment in the last few weeks was being able to spread the word about the Veteran’s Last Patrol organization which seeks to honor Vets who are in hospice.

Grateful for having shared his life are his Wife, Lucy Tooley of Sioux Falls; children, Tami (Chris) Graham of Weeping Water, NE, Todd (Denise) Tooley of Ledyard, CT, and Tracy (Scott) Foskett of Vancouver, WA; siblings, James (Deanna) Tooley of Adrian, GA, John (Susan) Tooley of Jeffersonton, VA, Joann Barr of Hudson, SD, Lloyd “Hap” Tooley of Irene, SD, Anthony Tooley (Lyn) of Perth, Australia, Mary (Jim) Roth of Crowley, TX, Philip (Sandra) Tooley of Brandon, SD, Patrick Tooley (Iris) of Beresford, SD, Elizabeth (Easton) Floe of Plymouth, MN, and Vincent (Kelly) Tooley of Amelia, OH; seven grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Lloyd and Cecelia; and siblings, Jerome, Joseph, Lawrence “Butch”, and Mary Jo.