Eugene Ray Cantwell, 92

October 6, 1927 – November 15, 2019

On Friday morning, November 15, Gene died peacefully at the age of 92 after a long decline. He was beloved by family, community, and his incredibly wide circle of friends. A resident of Clermont since 1940, he was his own kind of institution:  dedicated civic and church leader, competitive athlete, small town optometrist, collector of people.

Gene's childhood was influenced by the work ethic of his parents and the global influence of World War II.  Born on October 6, 1927 in Effingham, IL, he lived in Dieterich, IL until his family (father – Ross Cantwell, d. 1959; mother – Amy Manuel Cantwell, d. 1979; brother – Robert Keith Cantwell, d. 2015; sister –  Shirley Cantwell Crowley, d. 2018) moved to Winter Haven, FL in 1939.  The family eventually settled in Clermont in 1940. Gene established his reputation for punctuality early with achieving perfect attendance every year at school until he was stricken with polio at age 10. He graduated from Clermont-Minneola High School in 1945 on a Friday and started college at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL the following Monday. He transferred to the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, TN and graduated from there in 1949. In 1950 he opened his optometry practice in downtown Clermont, which he maintained until he retired in 1993.

Gene served in the US Army from 1953-1955. His time in the Army allowed him to explore Europe extensively during his leaves and ignited his lifetime love of travel that he passed on to his children. Upon leaving the Army he married Jacqueline Rickerson (d. 1991) on June 24, 1955 and had two children who survive him, Ken Cantwell (Charlene Schmidt) of Kailua, HI and Kathy Cantwell (Eric Bartholomew) of Charlotte, NC. When opening their school lunchboxes, his kids were frequently surprised to find pictures drawn on their bananas of bombs being dropped on Nazi submarines.

Throughout his adulthood he was active in church and community, from capturing armadillos for the JayCees annual armadillo races, serving pancakes at the Kiwanis Club's annual Pancake Day and counting the offering collection each Sunday after church at the First United Methodist Church. He was president of the Clermont Kiwanis Club in 1958, and in 2017 was recognized by the Kiwanis for 65 years of Perfect Attendance.

He joined the First United Methodist Church in Clermont in 1940 at the age of 12.  As of his death, he was the Church's longest member at 79 years.  He held many leadership roles at the church in those 79 years, including Chairman of the Building Committee from 1958 – 1961 and Finance Chairman. In his own words, "even when I wasn't Finance Chairman, I still kept track of the church's finances".  He was Chairman of the Administrative Board for a number of years and taught first and second grade Sunday School for 17 years.

Other awards and recognition he received were the 4-Way Test Award from the Rotary Club of South Lake County in 1970, a 10-gallon blood donor recognition from the Central Florida Blood Bank, and in 1991, he was inducted into the Clermont High School Hall of Fame.

In 1993, Gene married Mary Ann Holzapfel, who survives him. He enjoyed many adventures with Mary Ann including hiking the Appalachian Trail, trekking the Himalayas and exploring the Galápagos Islands. He was fortunate to be the recipient of her devoted, loving care during his final years. He is also survived by his two stepchildren, Kristin Gunasekera (Lushantha) of Clermont and Kurt Holzapfel (Michelle) of Vero Beach, FL.  He has 7 grandchildren:  Kevin Holzapfel, Konnor Holzapfel, Benjamin Gunasekera, Scarlett Gunasekera, Daphne Gunasekera, Elliott Gunasekera and Quentin Gunasekera.

Gene always enjoyed the competition of sports, both individual and team, and was able to play them well into his eighties. Starting in high school he played football, basketball and baseball, and in 2007 his 80-and-over Senior Basketball team won a gold medal at the National Senior Games. He took up jogging in the 1970s and commented after the first time he ran a mile "I don't expect to ever feel that bad again and live". Softball and volleyball were other passions he enjoyed in both city and church leagues, as well as tennis and bicycle riding. When asked if he had a favorite sport to play, he responded "overall probably basketball, but football, if it was tackle, would be my favorite because I like to tackle people.  You can work out a lot of frustrations that way."

Throughout his life he enjoyed travel, meeting new people and maintaining relationships with people he'd known throughout his life. He espoused the virtues of education, hard work, self-discipline and financial frugality and viewed his success in life as his reward for a life well-led. When asked once if he thought his kids would have a better life than he, his response was "How could anyone?"

A Celebration of Gene's extraordinary Life will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Clermont, 950 7 ^th Street Clermont, on Saturday, December 28, 2019 at 2:00 PM.  An ice cream social reception will be held immediately following. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the First United Methodist Church of Clermont, Permanent Endowment Fund, or Habitat for Humanity Lake-Sumter, FL ( habitatls.org ).