TRAVERSE CITY – Eugene "Gene" Bernard Courtade, 94, of Traverse City, died on April 20, 2016. Gene was born on January 10, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, to the late Aloysius Courtad and Nellie Courtade, the third of twelve children.

Gene moved to Traverse City as a child and graduated from St. Francis High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp (later the Air Force) and proudly served his country as an instructor of navigation in WWII and as a combat navigator in the Korean war. He was a navigator until the end. Even blind and 94, he knew where he was, could give precise instructions for shortcuts, and would point out sites of long vanished buildings around the Grand Traverse countryside.

Between the wars and after the Korean War, he lived in Houston, Texas, where he had met his first wife, Carol (Sarver) Courtade (deceased). He attended the University of Houston at nights on the G.I. Bill and received his undergraduate and masters degrees in accountancy, following which he opened his practice as a CPA. He lived and worked in Texas until moving back to Traverse City in 2003. He met and married Inez Zaring in Traverse City on October 23, 2004, and they had many good years together until her death on March 23, 2014.

Gene was a member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. He enjoyed stamp and coin collecting and classical music.

He is survived by his children, daughters, Carol (Roy) Laney of The Woodlands, TX, Mary Courtade of The Woodlands, TX; sons, John Courtade of Austin, TX, Steven (Wendy) Courtade of Alpharetta, GA; stepson, Glenn (Cathy) Zaring of Manistee, MI; brother, Al (Murna) Courtad of Traverse City; sisters, Marie Keaton, Geraldine Smith, Joan Romis, Dolores Kress, Patricia Franke; 7 grandchildren; and 6 great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian burial will take place on Saturday, May 7 at 11 a.m. at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church with Fr. Jim Hayden officiating. A reception and lunch will follow the Mass at the Church.

Friends are encouraged to, instead of sending any flowers, make a donation to the St. Vincent de Paul Society or the Carmelite Monastery of the Infant Jesus of Prague in Traverse City.
Please share your thoughts and memories with Gene's family by way of his online guestbook at www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com . ,

The family is being cared for by the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home and Cremation Services.