Obituary of Eugene Fields Birdwell

Graveside services for Eugene Fields Birdwell 86, Roseville, California, formerly of Overton, will be at 3:00 PM, Saturday, April 28 in the Overton City Cemetery under direction of Cottle-Pearson Funeral Home, Overton with Reverend Fred Parsons officiating.  Eugene Fields Birdwell, who went by Fields, was born in Overton, Texas on June 8, 1925 to George and Bertie Birdwell.  When he was in junior high, the family moved to Tyler, and he was a graduate of Tyler High school, class of 1942. He always spoke fondly of his childhood, of spending it outdoors hunting and fishing, and generally just being out in the woods, or playing in a nearby creek.    After high school he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, and became a pilot of B17's.  He always loved flying, whether as a pilot or a passenger. After the war, he graduated from Southern Methodist University with a degree in business. In 1949 he married Helen Curtis, and they moved to Dallas where he worked for the Travelers Insurance company as an auditor. They had 2 children, David in 1952 and Suzy in 1955.  In the late 1950's he joined his brothers and sisters in moving to the Sacramento, California area, where they opened up the Birdwell Lumber company.   Later on they sold that company, and the family moved to Campbell, California, and Fields went to work for the Federal government as an auditor, a position he held until he retired  He also went back to college and received his MBA from University of Santa Clara.   He worked on several large rocket defense programs, and was thrilled when he was invited to go to Vandenberg Air Base in California and watch a rocket launch. Helen and Fields divorced in 1977, and he later married Patricia. Both wives preceded him in death, as did his older brother, James Birdwell and his son, David. Fields is survived by his daughter, Suzy, 2 grandchildren, Heidi (Justin) Meeks Harris and Erik Birdwell,  three great grandchildren and his sister Madeline and brother George.  Fields was a quiet man, who loved to work with his hands. He could fix anything around the house, and especially enjoyed building things, whether it was a shed, cabinets, shelves, furniture, you name it!  He had a huge collection of tools and power tools, and those were his pride and joy. His happiest times were working on building something.  His granddaughter Heidi still cherishes a doll cradle he built for her when she was a little girl.  Everyone in the family has some piece of furniture Fields made for them.  As he got older, he often expressed his desire for his tools to go to someone who would use and appreciate them, and was thrilled when several of the cousins asked to have them. He told all his neighbors how happy he was the tools were staying in the family, and in fact were going back to Texas. Fields died suddenly on December 13, 2011 of a heart attack.  He had suffered from heart problems for a number of years, yet was able to remain in his home, surrounded by the things he loved. Suzy had spoken to him just the morning of his passing, and he was excited about Christmas, and happy about the gifts they had decided to order for his brother and sister. Holidays were always special in the Birdwell household, and Fields always wanted everyone to have a joyous time. Even though he lived most of his life in California, Fields was always a Texan at heart, and never forgot Texas. It was always his desire his ashes be returned to Texas, and placed in the family cemetery with his parents and brother.