Carl Eugene Givens

June 14, 1933-November 1, 2004

Carl Eugene (“Gene”) Givens, a former longtime La Cañadan who most recently made his home in Pasadena, died Nov. 1. He battled Parkinson’s disease for more than 20 years.

Gene grew up in Riverside, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. Following high school, he attended Dartmouth College where he started on the varsity basketball team. After college, he spent two years as an officer in the Navy, stationed in Japan.

Following graduation from Northwestern Law School, Gene joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which assigned him to the Los Angeles office. Gene practiced law in Los Angeles, specializing in tax, probate and trust law until his retirement.

Gene was a member of the Twentieth Century Round-table, Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Rotary and the Dartmouth Club of Southern California. He was also active in the community as president of the La Cañada High School Booster Club, a deacon and elder at La Cañada Presbyterian Church and a coach for several softball and basketball teams.

Gene is survived by his wife, Gwyneth; children Greg, Chad, Tenley Evans and Ashlee Frame; and five grandchildren.

Services will be private. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be directed to the National Parkinson Foundation, Inc., Attn: Mary Ann Sprinkle, 1501 NW 9th Ave., Bob Hope Road, Miami, FL 33136-1494 (online donations may be made at parkinson.org); or to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163 (online at michaeljfox.org).