Eugene V. Elsbree II
Oct. 2, 1933-Oct. 26, 2021
Atherton, California
Eugene (Gene) V. Elsbree II, a 60-year resident of Atherton, CA and a direct descendent of a California Gold Rush 49er pioneer, passed away on October 26, 2021. He was 88 years old and had an active full run at life.
Gene Elsbree was born on October 2, 1933, in Providence, Rhode Island to Bertha Randall Elsbree and Shirley Sweet Elsbree. He spent his early life in Providence and at the family's beloved summer residence in Buttonwoods, RI on the shores of East Greenwich Bay. Gene attended the John Howland Elementary School and graduated from Moses Brown High School in 1951, where he was a key member of the football, track and basketball teams.
Gene bucked family tradition and entered the Class of 1955 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, where he majored in English and enrolled in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program. Earning the college nickname, “Happy”, Gene was a proud member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and brought his open-water swimming skills from Buttonwoods to the Dartmouth Varsity Swimming Team.
After graduation, Gene served in the United States Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant JG on the USS Kirkpatrick (DER-318) out of Newport, RI on the Atlantic Barrier, the seaward extension of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line from 1955 to 1957. Among Gene's favorite stories (and he had a lot of them) were his times in the Navy, disembarking in Cuba where on occasion, he reveled with the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Ava Gardner.
Upon being honorably discharged from the Navy, Gene traveled West to enter Stanford Business School where he received an MBA with a focus on marketing and finance. One fateful autumn day there at a Stanford football game, after moving in abruptly to occupy a seat that she had been saving for a friend, Gene first met Marcy Wheeler, his future wife of 63 years. Gene and Marcy were married in September 1958 at St. Paul’s Church in Burlingame, CA and honeymooned in Hawaii.
Gene began the first half of his business career in advertising and marketing consumer products and services with Sunset Magazine, Hills Brothers Coffee and the Bank of California. His sharp business mind, outgoing personality and superior writing skills allowed him to rise in the corporate world focusing on communications, investor relations and government affairs with Arcata Corporation, Saga Corporation and The Cooper Companies. Gene enjoyed mightily his nearly 40-year business career and always had an uncanny knack for moving into the position of controlling the corporate tickets to many Bay Area sporting events featuring the 49ers, Giants, Warriors and others.
After leaving the corporate world, Gene served as an independent consultant to a number of companies, including Bain & Co., Cooper Development and perhaps most significantly, Sunset Magazine, where he had landed his first job. Bringing his business career full circle, Gene greatly enjoyed his working to assist with the sale of Sunset Magazine to Time-Warner Co. in 1990.
Gene was an avid tennis player and a member and 9-year Director of the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton CA.
Dating back to his honeymoon, Gene loved Hawaii and particularly the Island of Kauai. He participated actively in the Kiahuna Plantation Homeowners Association, making numerous trips over to Kauai with Marcy and family to enjoy the warm Ocean waters.
Gene loved his family history and was always proud to note that he was the great grandson of Shirley Anon Elsbree, who arrived in San Francisco on the ship Barque Valesco of Boston via Cape Horn on October 7, 1849, after a long and arduous voyage of 235 days. Shirley Elsbree prospected for gold in the Sacramento area, and eventually returned to New England and established what would be a 100-year family retail clothing business in downtown Providence, RI, the Elsbree-Valleau Co., Inc.
Special thanks go out to all of Gene's good, close friends, whom he valued deeply, and to his remarkable caregivers, Nona, Nino, Hanz, Ronald and Henry, who helped devotedly at Gordon Manor. Gene’s friendly, welcoming style and engaging smile will be sorely missed.
Gene is survived by his wife, Marcy Wheeler Elsbree; his sons, Eugene Valleau Elsbree, III (Mary) with grandson Nicholas; Mark Wheeler Elsbree (Nicky) with grandson, Clayton, and granddaughter, Hadley; and his younger brother Andrew Greene Elsbree (Carole) and family. In keeping with his wishes, Gene will be interred at the Elsbree family plot in Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, RI. There will be no formal memorial service.
Tags: veteran, business
