Eugene Travis Calk
November 4, 1942 – January 8, 2022
Eugene Travis Calk, 79, of Boerne, Texas, passed away on Saturday, January 8, 2022, from complications with pneumonia following a two-decade battle with Parkinson’s.
Eugene (Gene) was born on Nov. 4, 1942, to Margaret (Maggie) Campbell and Travis (Joker) Marshall Calk in San Antonio. After Eugene graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1960, he hired on with Southern Pacific Railroad before joining the Navy in 1963. He was stationed in Hawaii and served in the Vietnam War on the destroyer U.S.S. Renshaw as a gunner’s mate.
After the war, Eugene served in the Navy Reserves until he was honorably discharged in 1969.
On a road trip through California with friends in 1967, Eugene met the love of his life, Jo Ann, on a beach in Malibu. They married on July 12, 1968, in Canoga Park, California. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Boerne, where they bought some land and a little house and started putting down life-long roots.
In 1971, he returned to the Southern Pacific Railroad as a brakeman/conductor. In 1972, Melissa Ann was born, followed by Heather Lee in 1977. He retired from the railroad in 2007.
In 2021, he became a resident of Hill Top Village Nursing Care Center in Kerrville, Texas, where he resided until his passing.
Over the years, Gene served the Boerne community in a variety of ways. He was a member of the Lions Club with his dear friends Diane and Don Backer. He was a director with the Boerne Berges Fest and a 25-year-long member of the conservation organization Ducks Unlimited.
Gene did not let Parkinson’s slow him down. He was a highly skilled woodworker. He loved every part of the creation process and was always on the lookout for downed trees to be his next project. He built beautiful mantels, tables and stools that many people are lucky to have in their homes today.
He also was an avid golfer and continued to play golf until recent years. He loved the outdoors, including fishing, hunting and boating. For 30 years, Gene and his “hunting buddies” spent a couple weeks each year hunting in Durango, Colorado. The trips eventually involved more golfing and less hunting, but the tradition continued for many years.
Gene loved spending time driving around with his beloved dogs. He always had a soft spot for animals, often bringing them home to his daughters when he worked for the railroad. While a resident at Hill Top Village, he joined the ASPCA to contribute to animal abuse awareness.
Gene was preceded in death by both of his parents, Maggie and Joker, and his younger sister, Jenny Lee Calk. He is survived by his wife, Jo Ann Calk; daughters Melissa Calk Martin and Heather Calk Smurr; their husbands, Kevin Martin and Tyler Smurr; four grandchildren, Julia (21) and Reece (13) Martin and Cooper (18) and Sadie (14) Smurr; his sister, Jo Anne Glasscock; and several nieces and nephews and their children.
Family and friends are invited to a Celebration of Life on Friday, February 11, 2022, at 4 p.m. at the Calk residence at 120 Calk Lane, Boerne, Texas. A private graveside is being held at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Gene’s favorite charity, ASPCA, at www.aspca.org.
To leave condolences for the family, please visit www.ebensberger-fisher.com.Arrangements with Ebensberger-Fisher Funeral Home of Boerne.
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