E. Eugene Innis

Elbert Eugene Innis, age 88, passed away after a brief illness on Monday afternoon, October 19, 2015, at the St. Thomas West Hospital of Nashville, Tennessee.

Born January 19, 1927 in Meade, Kansas, the son of Elbert and Mona (McMeel) Innis, Eugene graduated salutatorian from Meade High School. He had joined the Navy’s B-12 program as a high school senior, and upon graduation moved to the Great Lakes for Navy boot camp. He continued his education at Iowa State, eventually earning a degree in Chemical Engineering from Kansas University. He married Betty Eltha Brown of Meade, Kansas on July 13, 1952. They moved to Kansas City where he took a job working as a chemical engineer for Colgate Palmolive. While working there he went to night school and earned his law degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Specializing in patent law, he began his career in 1955 as a patent attorney for the Phillips 66 Oil Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He worked and raised his family in Bartlesville until 1977 when he became the head of the patent division of Air Products Corporation of Allentown, Pennsylvania. After his retirement in the early 90s, he and his wife Betty moved to Woodland Park, Colorado where they were active in their community, serving as board members and performing charity work for many organizations in Woodland Park and Colorado Springs. They were faithful members of the Colorado Springs First United Methodist Church. Gene enjoyed reading, music, golf, traveling, and was often sought out for his expert opinions, and his reasoned approach by family and friends alike.
He was married to Betty for sixty-one years. She precedes him in death on October 9, 2013.

He is survived by his sons; Steve, and his wife Nancy of Greely, Colorado, and David, and his wife Adrienne of Franklin, Tennessee. His grandchildren Isom, Isabella and Isaiah all live in Los Angeles California.

He is preceded in death by his wife Betty, his parents, and his three sisters, Josephine Dow, Mary Archer, and Catherine Schibi.

Graveside services will be held at the Graceland Cemetery in Meade, Kansas, on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 10:00 am. Family will gather at United Methodist Church of Meade, Kansas 203 N Park Street at 9:00 am for a moment of prayer.

A separate memorial celebration of life will be held in Colorado Springs at the First United Methodist Church on November 14, 2015.

Fidler-Orme-Bachman Mortuary, Meade, Kansas, has been entrusted with arrangements.