Frederic Eugene (Gene) Dion

Frederic Eugene (Gene) Dion, III, 70, passed away from natural causes on February 25th, 2017 at his home in Boulder, CO.

Known as Good Time Montana Gene, he loved playing the jug, listening to blues music, and riding motorcycles. He was a proud founding member in good standing of Hell’s Tunas Motorcycle Club. He loved the outdoors. Before sustaining a hip injury he enjoying cross-country skiing, climbing and hiking. A voracious reader, Gene was a student of many subjects, a collector of Western art and always enjoyed a good debate. He relished a good road trip and amassed many memories from his travels to Africa, the Galapagos, the Cook Islands, Belize and Alaska. Though fiercely independent and a life-long bachelor, Gene had many great friends whose company he cherished and whom he would help whenever he could.

Gene was born on April 4th, 1946 in Glendive, MT to parents Frederic Eugene Dion, Jr. and V. Elizabeth Myers. He attended Sacred Heart Primary School, then graduated from Dawson County High School in 1964. Gene earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 1969, and continued his post-graduate work there in Interdisciplinary Mechanical Engineering. Gene earned his California Professional Engineer’s License, and eventually held twelve patents. In his early career he worked for Ross Gear, Peterbilt and West Coast Tuna Works. He then turned to the disk drive industry working for Hewlett Packard, Storage Tech, Amcodyne, Prairie Tech, and Data General before moving back to Boulder where he brought his skills to MiniScribe and Maxtor. He achieved his life-long dream of having his own business when he became the owner of Collins Machine and Manufacturing, a leading machine shop on the Front Range, eventually selling the company in 2011.

Gene is survived by his brother, John Howard Dion (wife, Carol); his sisters, Theresa Elizabeth Dion (husband, Randall Kohlfarber) and Patricia Anne Dion (husband, David Amick), his nieces, Katherine Amick and Heather Dion McPherson; his nephew, J.P. Dion; four grandnieces and grandnephews, as well as several cousins.

Described by his loved ones as a man who appreciated life, friends, and family, Gene will be missed by many. In lieu of flowers, please focus donations in his honor to your local Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Thank you for your kind thoughts and considerations for Good Time Montana Gene and his family.

A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, April 8, 2-4 PM at the Dove House, Lionsgate Event Center, 1055 South 112th St. (Hwy 287), Lafayette, CO. New Orleans style funeral procession at 3:00.