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by Abrasha Brainin

July 19, 2000

Eugene Jennings
"Gene" passed away at the age of 86. He was a USMS All-American, national champion and perennial Top Tenner. He helped Bob Beach bring SPM to national prominence.

His main passions were family, medicene, swimming, and sailing. A native New Yorker, he swam in high school and at Columbia University on a scholarship. He worked summers as a lifeguard. Gene spent the war years as a physician on a U.S. Navy destroyer.

He touched many people in his long life as son, husband, father and grandfather to his family and to many others as a mentor, guide, doctor, and advisor.

Gene was a quiet and calm man who was always in control in any emergency; an experienced diagnostician, full of warmth and affection. He was a giver, not a taker, to many in St. Pete, the St. Pete Masters and all over the USA who are in his debt.

He showed his great intestinal fortitude with his rehabilitation after a stroke over ten years ago.

We who had the privilege of being his friend, patient, acquaintance, swimming buddy will all miss him.

We hope "Mims", his great lifelong love and wife and also a USMS national champion in her own right, will continue to swim with us.

P.S. in his middle 60's, Gene was swimming the 50 fly under 33 seconds.


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