Eugene M. "Gene" Farmer, formerly of Granby and Springfield, Vt., died peacefully at the home of his son, Edward, in Lyndon, Vt., Thursday afternoon Sept. 6, 2007, at the age of 94. He was born May 20, 1913, in Burke, Vt., the last surviving child of the late Fred and Aimee (Hazen) Farmer. Gene grew up on the Belmont Stock Farm in East Burke and graduated from Lyndon Institute. He worked on the family farm and joined the Vermont National Guard in Lyndonville, serving for seven years. He was a member of the Vermont National Guard rifle team and traveled to Camp Perry in Ohio to compete in national matches. He was interested in machinery and learned how to operate some simple machinery at age 12 from a friend in the blacksmith shop in East Burke. He used this knowledge to make his first gunstock, which became a lifelong hobby. Later, he went to Pittsfield, Mass., and was employed as a machinist at a General Electric plant. At the start of World War II, he moved to Springfield, Vt., to work for Jones and Lamson Machine Tool Company. He assembled machines for the war effort and then traveled the U.S. training operators to run them. On June 01, 1940, Gene married Helen Lund. Following World War II, Gene and Helen moved back to the Northeast Kingdom where Gene plowed roads for the town of Granby. He also was employed as a fire lookout on Burke Mountain while Helen managed the picnic areas and toll road. They also He attended listers' school to become certified because "he wanted to get it right." A member of the St. Johns Masonic Lodge in Springfield and the Mt. Sinai Shriners in Barre, Vt., Gene was a lifetime member of the NRA and past president of the Wells River-Groton Trapshooters Club, and the Northeast Kingdom Skeet Club. He enjoyed his shooting sports until the age of 86. His favorite past times included hunting with his brothers in-law George, Henry and Milton Lund, and his childhood friends Ben and Bill Upson. He was an expert fly fisherman and fly tier, spending many happy hours with Helen fishing the lakes and streams of the Northeast Kingdom. He also was able to take several successful moose hunting trips to Newfoundland. A hunting trip to New Brunswick with Helen was one of his favorite memories. Survivors include his two sons and their wives, Edward and Lorinda (Wood) Farmer of Lyndon and Richard and Lynda (Silloway) Farmer of Springfield; two grandchildren, Charlene Farmer of Essex, Vt., and Roger Farmer and his wife, Tammy of White River, Vt.; five great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 66 years, Helen Farmer, in May of 2006; his four siblings and their spouses, Harold and Stella Farmer, Edith and Edmund McNally, Ruth and Hilbert Hudson, and Gertrude and Bernard Good. A memorial service will be held Wednesday Sept. 12 at 2:30 p.m. at the Lyndon Bible Church (located on Brown Farm Road just off Red Village Road in Lyndon) with the Rev. Joel Battaglia officiating. Burial in Woodmont Cemetery in East Burke will be held at the convenience of the family. There will be no visiting hours. Memorial donations made in Eugene Farmer's memory may be directed to either Granby Congregational Church, Granby, VT 05840 or to Caledonia Home Health Inc., P.O. Box 383, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819. Arrangements are by Guibord Funeral Home, Lyndonville.