About Us
Providing relevant survival educational
materials and information about emergency situations has always been the goal of Gene Fear and the
Survival Education Association of Tacoma, Washington. Over the years
much information has been published and disseminated through him and those working with him and we will continue on a limited basis to share his educational materials here at this website.
Gene Fear 1919 - 2010
Author, lecturer, instructor, Gene passed away on Feb 16th, 2010. He was born in Mabton, WA in 1919, the only son of Lola and Henry Fear. He graduated from Fife High School in 1938. In high school,
he was an actor and in many school plays. He also drove school bus for Fife High School and worked at his parents business, Crestdale Farms Fruit and Produce in Fife. In 1941, he married Gladys Archer from Puyallup. On their
honeymoon, he was drafted into World War II and was sent to Lemoore air base in California for basic training in the Army Air Corps. He served in the 322nd Troop Carrier Squadron, 14th Air Force in the China, India and Burma. He had
many hours flying over the “hump” (Himalayas) and received the Distinguished-Flying Cross and other metals of honor. He was a Technical Sergeant and Airplane Maintenance Technician flying in C47’s (DC3) cargo planes.
After the war, he had 2 sons and moved back to Tacoma to help run his family’s business on Hwy. 99 near the Puyallup River and downtown Tacoma. He helped the boys learn to ski at McKinley Park and at Paradise on the slopes of Mt
Rainier. He had an interest in skiing and mountaineering and encouraged his sons, their relatives and friends in that direction. Ron, his oldest son became a professional mountain climber and climbed in the Himalayas, Europe and South
American as well as the US. He was the only American climber on an Austrian expedition that climbed the world’s highest unclimbed peak. He was also filmed skiing down Mt. McKinley in Alaska. Ron died in 1973 in a river floating
accident near Machu Pichu in Peru . His youngest son Dan, owned and directed The Silver Image Gallery for twenty years, and continues his father’s tradition of volunteer work in Tacoma.
Gene was a member of the Tacoma Mountaineers and led the Tacoma Junior Mountaineers as their advisor. He met Florence, his second wife through the Mountaineers and they spent many weekends with the Junior Mountaineers at Irish Cabin
near Mt Rainier. With the help of the Junior Mountaineers, he and a few others built the climbing pylon behind the Mountaineer’s building on N 30th. He became actively involved with Tacoma Mountain Rescue and as their education
director and changed the way wilderness survival techniques taught and thought of. He was one of the world’s leading experts on hypothermia and taught outdoor survival skills and techniques around the country. He received a Hal Foss
Award for significant contributions to search and rescue at the national level by the National Association for Search & Rescue. He authored several books and produced dozens of educational pamphlets on outdoor preparedness, survival
skills and hypothermia. Sports Illustrated did a story about his teaching methods and The Seattle Times did a Sunday Magazine article on him. He contributed greatly to the field of Outdoor Educations in our state and nationally.
He lived in Tacoma and shared his park-like property with squirrels, crows, the neighborhood peacocks and other critters. Florence died in 1997. Richard Paine, Gary Kocha, Tom Staadt and Rick LaValla were special people in his life.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Winifred Paine. Gene is survived by his son Dan, first wife Gladys, his sister Dorothy Bryant of Olalla, and many loving nephews and nieces. A committal service will be held at
the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, WA at 1:00 on Friday, April 16th.
Evolution of Search and Rescue
- Article that mentions Gene Fear's contributions to early
survival education efforts.
History of the Mountaineer's
Irish Cabin
