Harold Ralph Gein 1/23/1918 - 12/7/2019

Harold Ralph "Buck" Gein peacefully passed away in the home he built 70 years ago on December 7th, just about a month before his 102nd birthday. He is survived by his adoring daughter Kathy and her husband, Ron Johnson, his loving grandson Chris Johnson and his wife Amy, his great grandson of 4 months Hyatt Buckeye Johnson, and multiple generations of nieces and nephews, including David and Jan George of Grass Valley, Janet Wogan of Sacramento, and Tom and Melani Wogan of Honolulu. Harold was the 6th of 8 children born to Karl and Rhomance Gein in January 1918. He grew up in rural Fairfield, Ca. and did well enough in school to become the second person to go to college, following his brother Carl to Chico State. Through lots of hard work, he got his degree. But more importantly, he met the love of his life, Helen Mulcahy, whose family dates back to the 1860's of Nevada County, California. Sometime after graduation, he joined the Army Air Corps, even though he was totally deaf in his left ear. Because of his college degree, he went into O.C.S. and eventually trained as a navigator for B-17 bombers. He was eventually sent to Italy, where he survived 36 missions over enemy territory, even though he was shot down twice behind enemy lines. After the war, he married Helen and they settled down in the small town of Auburn. He got a job as a shop teacher at Placer High School, where he eventually became a Student Councilor, Dean of Boys, and finally Principal before moving up to be Assistant Superintendent of Placer School District. He retired in June of 1983. Upon retirement, Buck and Helen traveled a great deal. Whether they went on big trips to Ireland or Italy, or on short trips to Carmel or Reno, their happiness was that they did it together. But the best part of retirement was he got to spend much more time doing what he loved most, spending time with his family and friends. After Helen's death in 2008, Buck became much more active in S.I.R.S., the Elks, and his beloved Tahoe Club. If Buck's generation was "The Greatest Generation", then Buck was truly one of the people that made it so. Graveside services will be held on Thursday, January 23rd at St Patrick's Cemetery in Grass Valley, Ca. at 10:30 AM. A celebration of his life will follow from 2:00 to 5:00 PM at the Tahoe Club in Auburn. All who knew and valued him are invited to attend one or both of these ceremonies.