Harrold Eugene "Gene" Hiatt's Obituary
Harrold Eugene “Gene” Hiatt, 90, was born at home on Sept. 20, 1925 in Tipton, IN, and passed away at home in Richardson Oct. 21 attended by family. He was a technical writer for 30 years and a Richardson resident since August, 1967. Typical of the times, Hiatt left high school in Janury, 1943 to attend Wabash College for a semester before returning home to graduate with his class. His education at Wabash was interrupted by service in the Army from late 1944 until January, 1947 serving in the Signal Corps. He started working life with the Tipton (IN) Telephone Company, later taught at a technical school, and then became a technical writer. Hiatt was a lifelong member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and has served in almost all the offices in the church in the various localities where he lived. His favorite scripture was 1 Corinthians 13, which he called “as brief and concise a statement of personal conduct as can be written. From these characteristics of love are derived all the rules for guiding one’s personal conduct. Codes of conduct can be created but unless they can pass though the filter of these basic characteristics, they are not valid rules and are not to be acted upon.” After retiring in September, 1990, he volunteered at First Christian Church and United Disciples Christian Church in Richardson, played in the bell choir, sang in the choir, and worked as a volunteer in the pre-build shop for Dallas Habitat for Humanity constructing panels used to build homes. He was preceded in death by wife Helen, parents William Daniel Hiatt and Margaret Irene Michel, and brother Don R. Hiatt. He is survived by brother Jack L. Hiatt of Anderson, IN.; sons Michel of Richardson, Dee (Nola) of Plano and Thomas (Kathy) of Okatie, SC, and daughter Mariann (Santiago) Carias of Quinlan; 12 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75243. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to United Disciples Christian Church, UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas for Alzheimers research, or Dallas Habitat for Humanity.
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