Eugene Edward Sobeck

Eugene (Gene) Edward Sobeck, born in Winona, Minnesota on February 3, 1928, to Albert Sobeck and Mabel Golish of Wilson Township, left this earth at noon on June 16, 2011, surrounded by family. Gene worked with his father as a pitman on a shovel for two summers with the City of Winona before he was employed at Madison Silo in 1945. He volunteered and served in the U.S. Army from March 1946 to August 1947 working as an armorer repairing weapons with the Eighth Engineer Squadron occupational force near Tokyo, Japan. He was married to Phyllis Keen, and had four children. He married his loving wife, Shirley Mae Mullen in 1959, and shared almost 50 years of happiness through work, leisure, fun and family until she passed in March 2008. Although he had no formal training, his thirst for knowledge led him to be a self-taught design engineer with Lake Center Switch Company, retiring in1990 after 42 years, having helped them grow into a successful enterprise through his innovation and expertise. When asked about how he learned his craft, his response was ''you have to be just born with it...to see how something is gonna work when it isn't there." Many people have expressed the opinion that without him there wouldn't have been a Lake Center. "I started adding little gizmo's and mechanical crap that I put on the presses to make it run better. Next thing I know I was in the tool room repairing and taking care of the dies." He improved the process for metal clips used for attaching chrome to automobiles. An operator would put together 1,000 a day. His boss at the time gave him a sketch where wire was bent manually and put on turntable for feeding - he robbed other parts to make it better. Went from 1,000/day to 1,000/hour. He further modified it by having automatic feeding of screws - the improved processes led to a single operator running a machine producing 120/minute.He then moved to the Model Shop and started automatic assembly plans for other customers. The multitude of products he worked on included turn signals, coffee makers and many Norelco appliances. He was known as 'Genius Gene' to many of his friends and colleagues, due to his an uncanny ability to understand intricate machine and electrical designs. He was an innovator and inventor, learning by doing and creating inventions that were patented by himself and for Lake Center. Repairmen were never called to the Sobeck household, because if it was broken, Gene usually could fix it. And he would sometimes break something to figure out how to fix it. He continuously expanded his abilities, going beyond standard plans found in Popular Mechanics - he built an operating scale model steam engine, complete with detailed brass fixtures, a working clutch - adding a reverse quadrant that wasn't provided in the plans, and detailed down to the treads on the steps to the cab. He was rewarded for that effort with an honorable mention for a Gold Hammer award from the magazine and he was presented with a miniature gold hammer. There is an exhaustive list of other things he built, among them a pontoon boat 'The Gem' which he built with his late brother Clem, that incorporated remote controls long before they came into fashion. A gift of a wine-making kit by his eldest daughter in 1971 led him to produce hundreds of bottles of wine, often employing his daughters to pick the dandelions, elderberry and other berries to stretch the limits and guidelines in the original kit. A miniature bulldozer, hydraulic can-crusher, and the 'Rod-gether' were among the other creations that led him to late hours in the workshop - often calling for a daughter to identify the proper-colored wire due to his color-blindness. A stickler for organization and details, his workshop was expansive and with everything in its place; and he meticulously filed manuals and information. An avid fisherman and camper, he enjoyed the company of friends and family at East Indian Creek Campground, Whitewater and Crystal Springs, and usually found access to places where most couldn't, using the winch on the front of his 4-wheel drive vehicle, if needed - in keeping with his membership in the 4-Wheeler club. He also enjoyed bowling in the Hal-Rod Bowling League, missing the elusive 300 game because of that stubborn 10-pin in the twelfth frame. He was an avid and feverish Viking fan, attending many games, including a Superbowl. He and Shirley hosted many Viking game-day parties in their rec-room, uniquely adorned with a purple-felt-covered pool table.He lived his life to the fullest and enjoyed his friends and family. He was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley Mae and daughter Deborah Jean Brommerich, grandson Joshua and great grandson Mustafa. He is survived by his sisters; Bernetta 'Red' Kouba and Marianne Mastenbrook; and children; Rita (Patrick) Prodzinski, Homer, MN, Cyndy Prodzinski, Decorah, IA, Randy (Deb,) Winona, Rick (Carrie) West Allis, WI, Karla (Jerry) Laughlin, Omaha, NE, Renee (Daniel) Foster, La Crescent, MN, Kelly (Steve) Welch, Castle Rock, CO, Kay (Brent) Bailey, Minnesota City, MN, Nikki Bohm, Loveland, CO. His 21 grandchildren are Adam (Christi) Brommerich, Andy (Lindsay) Brommerich, Jeff (Kelli ) Prodzinski, Jennifer (Wadie) Al Saeed, Brian (Darci Prodzinski,) Alex Benson, Travis Sobeck, Scott Durham, Jessie (Steve) Schultz, Richie, Jonathan & Rachel Sobeck, Kira Knickrehm, Cassie (Tou Lee) Vang, Isaiah (Erin) and Lonnie Foster, Mikaela, Kylynn & Teah Welch, Hunter & Kaelen Bailey and Alysa and Dolan Bohm. He was also a proud great-grandfather of 18 wonderful children. A wake and viewing with the family will be held at Hoff Funeral & Cremation Service, 3480 Service Drive, Goodview, MN, on Monday, June 20, 2011, from 4-7 PM and also one hour prior to the services on Tuesday. A celebration of his life will be held on Tuesday, June 21st at 11AM at Hoff Funeral & Cremation Service-Hansen Goodview Chapel. Interment will be at St. Mary's Cemetery in Winona with full military honors provided by the American Legion Leon J. Wentzel Post 9.Honorary pallbearers are Pat Prodzinski, Deb Sobeck, Carrie Sobeck, Jerry Laughlin, Daniel Foster, Steve Welch and Brent Bailey. Memorials in his honor can be made to the Winona Area Humane Society or www.tobacco-freekids.org. You may also share a memory of Eugene, sign the guestbook, and view his video tribute at www.hofffuneral.com.
Tribute video can be found at: videos.lifetributes.com/227072