Gene passed away on May 17 after a long battle with cancer. He was predeceased by parents Eugene McLamb Sr and Mary Willie McLamb of Clinton NC, and sister Mary McLamb Pritchard of Denver Colorado and Winston-Salem NC.

As a child and young adult, Gene loved visiting family in Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma (where his uncles fed his fascination with geology and petrology). He attended Louisburg College and graduated from Campbell College, and then attended the Bank Executive Leadership program at the UVA Darden School of Business. Along the way, he took numerous geology classes at NC State University – often reading the textbook before the first class even started, and always acing the tests.

Gene worked at First Citizens Bank for over 45 years, starting in collections and working his way up to Senior Vice President of Special Assets. While at the bank, he traveled extensively, reviewing commercial loans and working on bank mergers.

Gene met his beloved wife, Jess Roper McLamb, while working at First Citizens. They were married for over 40 years. They adored each other and were truly soulmates.

Gene loved going to their mountain house in western NC and sitting on the deck drinking Coors Light and cooking on the grill with all their “mountain family”. He constantly experimented with chili recipes, introduced deep fried turkey to Thanksgiving meals long before it became a thing to do, and made Brunswick stew for many parties in a huge black cauldron over a wood fire. He was a self-proclaimed “mountain man”.

His also loved spending long weekends in Beaufort NC with many of their lifelong friends. The numerous “reunions” in recent years with their “Friday Old Friends” group were special to him.

Gene loved ACC basketball (especially Carolina) and the NFL (especially the Denver Broncos) but once he went to his first NHL game (Carolina Hurricanes, of course), be became a fanatical hockey fan with season tickets for many years.

Gene always had a mischievous grin on his face. He loved real trees at Christmas, hiking in the mountains or walking around North Hills, water gun fights, “studying” every decision, his Scottish ancestry and Scottish music, classical music, border collies, and all his family.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by niece Erin Pritchard Macon (Thomas) and great niece Mary Macon; niece Catherine Pritchard Smith (Kent); Sister-in-law, Liza Roper and nephew Jesse Franklin; brother-in law Tom Roper (Sue), nephew Christopher Roper (Kelly) and great niece Sadie Roper; and niece Britney Roper.

If you are interested in a memorial donation in Gene’s honor, please consider the West Yancey Volunteer Fire Department, 6557 U.S. Hwy 19, Burnsville, NC 28714 or a special non-profit of your choosing.

The family will hold a celebration of life in honor of Gene on June 15th for family and friends to reminisce and tell “Gene” stories. For more details, contact Roper Rarities at 919-424-7257.