Lyman "Gene" Eugene Liggett

Lyman “Gene” Eugene Liggett, 86, passed away Thursday, October 17, 2019 at his home with his loving family by his side. Gene, the son of Charles and Wilma (Dunham) Liggett, was born September 22, 1933 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Gene was married to Ruby, the love of his life for 63 years until her passing. Gene and Ruby were neighbors and teenage sweethearts. He and Ruby loved to travel and visited 48 states. They were avid campers and greatly enjoyed camping by the ocean. Gene loved gambling and visiting casinos. He was very competitive and enjoyed spending hours playing card games with family and friends.

Gene lived in Des Moines the majority of his life. He lived in Scottsdale, AZ for several years and wintered in Harlingen, TX for over 20 years. Gene loved spending time with his family. He enjoyed children and remained a child at heart his entire life. He was a talker and loved entertaining others with his stories especially about his classic cars, travels and shenanigans when he was a kid. Gene never met a stranger. He could talk to anyone about anything for hours. He enjoyed teasing people and had a contagious laugh when he “got you”. He was full of humor and very witty with a funny quip for every situation that would make you laugh. Gene was a car enthusiast and amateur backyard mechanic.

Gene worked many years as a truck driver for a dairy and freight line. He liked the adventure of driving over the road and the opportunity it gave him to see new places and meet new people. He retired from being a semi owner-operator. He didn’t like retirement so he returned to work for O’Reilly Auto Parts as a delivery driver which gave him the interaction with people that he greatly enjoyed.

Gene is survived by his daughters, Judy (Bob) Hoffman and Pam (Tim) Hoffman; grandchildren, Gena (Andy) Wadle, Rob (Heather) Hoffman; Tim (Erika) Hoffman and Danielle Russo; great-grandchildren, Maile Adamovicz, Robbie Hoffman, Luciano and Milana Russo, Ophelia and Graham Hoffman and bonus great-grandchildren, Keary (Scott) Meth, Trent and Patton Culbertson and great-great-grandchild, Aspen Hein.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Ruby; his parents, Charles and Wilma Liggett; sister, Sherry Cross-Mazzanti and infant brother, Donald Liggett. Gene will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at Hamilton’s Southtown Funeral Home, 5400 SW 9th Street. The family will greet friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Gene will be laid to rest at Avon Cemetery.

Memorial contribution may be directed to the family in loving memory of Gene.

Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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