Eugene Andrew Barna was born on May 18, 1926 in New York City to Andrew and Susana Barna. He had two older sisters, Irene and Aranka. He attended public schools in Queens and the Bronx and upon graduation enlisted in the Army Air Force during the second world war. He was stationed in Germany and served for two years. Upon discharge from the service he returned to New York and enrolled at the New York State University at Oswego. His interest in sports ultimately led him to join the basketball team where he soon became captain. He majored in math and science education and was assigned to do his student teaching in a secondary school in the Bronx. It was there that he met his wife, Lillian, who was also doing her student teaching there. They married after graduation and a year of teaching in the public schools. "Gene" quickly decided that teaching was not for him and enrolled at Columbia University for engineering.
Subsequently, Gene and Lillian decided they wanted to start a family in a more rural setting than NYC and started an automobile trip across country trying to find the right place. They finally found it in Long Beach, California in 1952 where Gene found his first engineering job and Lillian found a teaching job. It was there that he welcomed his first son, Craig Andrew. He continued his education and ultimately got into the missiles and nuclear field working at Douglas Aircraft. In 1960 he was recruited by Lockheed to come to the Bay area. His second son, Keith Andrew, was born in San Jose. Subsequently, he was hired by Bechtel Corp and worked for them on nuclear projects at Lawrence Livermore Lab until retirement.
Gene was a prolific artist whose eclectic talent of expression is evident in his charcoals, pastels, and woodcarving. He also enjoyed coaching Little League in Saratoga and playing basketball with his sons and grandsons. Eugene Andrew Barna is survived by his loving wife Lillian, a national educational administrator, his sons Craig, a conductor and musical director, Keith, a private investigator and private security operator, and his own sports stars grandsons Andrew and Bronson.
Funeral Services will be held at Sacred Heart Church 13716 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga CA on Saturday July 30, 2016 at 11:00 AM followed by Private Burial. Reception 12:30 PM 14199 Saratoga Ave. Saratoga, CA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to:
The Salvation Army
1522 Winchester Blvd.
San Jose, CA 95128
attn.: Rochelle