Eugene L. Barksdale's Obituary
Eugene L Barksdale was born in Memphis, TN, on August 3rd, 1922, to Earl and Bessie Barksdale. This was during the great Depression of the 1920’s – He had two siblings, J.E. and James Barksdale. Things were tough during this period. With the help of soup kitchens, and dad doing any type job he could find, we made it through these hard times. Gene attended public schools and finished at dear ol’ Humes High. He married his childhood sweetheart Betty Biggert on Sept 1st, 1939, and some people said it would never work, because of my wanderlust and my strong desire to see the world – it’s a marriage that lasted 68 years. Of course, there were bumps in the road, but they were determined to make it work. His family was so poor that they couldn’t afford a camera, so aren’t any pictures of himself or his family as a boy. With jobs hard to attain, Gene enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 23rd, 1940, as a private making $21.00 per month. His unit was The 69th Coast Artillery Detachment at Fort Crockett, Texas. With the war raging in Europe, the U.S. Army was expanding for the war that everyone knew was coming. He advanced in Rank to PFC, CPL, SGT, and to Staff SGT. Gene applied for and was accepted as a Cadet in the Army Air Corp Pilot Training program. He graduated as a 2nd Lt., and with those Silver Wings, he flew the P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51 Mustang. Gene served 5 years during WW2 and after leaving the Air Force, He joined the 155th Fighter Squadron of The Tennessee Air National Guard. In 1950, during the Korean War, his unit was recalled to active duty for 24 months. Shortly after being recalled, he was assigned to the Far East Air Material Command at Kisarazi Air Force Base as a jet maintenance test pilot. He flew the F-80, F-86, F-84, F-94, and the T-6 Trainer. Gene also tested and flew the various planes for the Army such as the L-19, which was used as an observation plane by the Army. His boss was Capt. Stan Zarosky, who was a career regular Air Force officer—He was a good guy. Gene retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Command Pilot, Aircraft Commander, with approximately 10,000 hours of flying time. He served 5 years active duty in World War II as a fighter pilot and served 24 months in the Korean War as a fighter pilot and jet maintenance test pilot. Gene served 26 years in the Tennessee Air National Guard. During those 26 years he had several missions such as P-51 photo recon, B-26 photo recon, and FR 84 photo recon. They received the C-97 Boeing Transport with a worldwide mission. They flew cargo and military personnel worldwide. After 7 years with the C-97 they lost it and was assigned the C-124 Lockheed Transport. Gene flew the C-124 for 7 years, and it was at this time that he decided to retire. In 1976 Gene was elected Sheriff of Shelby County in Memphis, TN, where he served for a 10-year period. Under his leadership, guidance, and direction numerous innovations were instituted to bring the sheriff’s department on-line from approximately 350 employees to well over 1,000 personnel. Prior to his election of sheriff, he served with the Memphis Police Department for 24 years and attained the rank of Inspector. He commanded the personal crimes bureau and served as chief of the vice and narcotics bureau for 3 years. During this time major programs were instituted to seek out and arrest major drug suppliers, dealers, and pushers. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Gene served on the executive board of the FBI National Academy for seven years and was elected president of the academy in 1985, which was the year of the Academy’s 50th anniversary. After Gene became Sheriff in 1976, Elvis called him up one day and told him that he was interested in becoming a special deputy. Gene obliged Elvis and deputized not only Elvis, but Elvis’ bodyguards, known then as “The Memphis Mafia”. Elvis was very proud of this honor and took it quite seriously. Gene hired his nephew, Tommy Morgan to be his liaison between him and Elvis because he had to take of his sheriff duties. Thus, Gene and Elvis became friends. When Elvis died, Gene oversaw the entire security. Gene died on March 7th, 2022, at Methodist University Hospital. He is survived by his grandson, Lee Braden; great granddaughter, Alexa Braden; son-in-law, Gary Braden; cousin, June Millwood; a host of nieces, nephews, and friends; and special caregivers. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Earl and Bessie Barksdale, two brothers, James and J.E. Barksdale, wife, Betty, daughter, Sabrina, sister-in-law, Marie Barksdale, and nephew, Tom Morgan, Jr. The family will receive friends from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. Thursday, March 10th at Memorial Park Funeral Home, 5668 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee. His funeral service will begin at 11 a.m. Friday, March 11th at Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 7289 Highway 64, Memphis, Tennessee. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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