Gene Rains

Harold Gene Rains, 86, of Overland Park, KS passed away on February 16, 2023.  Visitation will be 10:00 am, Thursday February 23, 2023, with an 11:00 am funeral service following at Nall Avenue Baptist Church located at 6701 Nall Avenue, Prairie Village, KS 66208.  A graveside service will follow at 1:00 pm at Johnson County Memorial Gardens, 11200 Metcalf Avenue, Overland Park, KS 66210.

Gene was born April 18, 1936 in Lincoln, MO, the seventh of ten children of Don Wesley and Grace Mildred (Dalton) Rains.  Along with his parents, Gene was preceded in death by all of his brothers and all but one of his sisters, JoAnn O’Dell of Raytown, MO.

Gene was drafted into the Army in 1959 and served two years all State side.  He was mainly a vehicle/truck driver in his time with the Army.  He was honorably discharged and continued his driving career with various companies.  He worked primarily in the oil distribution industry, serving in several roles over the years.  He worked as a truck driver delivering petroleum products mainly across Kansas and Missouri.  Later after serving as the warehouse foreman, he moved into the receiving and distribution responsibilities of the bulk oil products.  Gene retired from AE West Petroleum in April, 1998.

On November 13, 1961, Gene and Erma Jean Johnson were married in Liberty, MO. They lived in Kansas City, MO early on in their marriage and attended Roanoke Baptist Church for many years.  They moved to Overland Park in the late sixties and later began attending Nall Avenue Baptist Church in 1976.  For many years Gene served as an usher at NABC.  His favorite NABC event was probably the men’s fish fry for which he was able to single-handedly supply all the fish for.  Gene and Erma Jean faithfully attended NABC until recent health reasons made it too difficult to physically attend.

As a young man Gene was an avid car fan. He knew all about cars, loved attending live racing events, and even enjoyed drag racing his own muscle car.  Later in life he expressed this love of racing by following NASCAR and watching most every race on television.  Gene also enjoyed hunting as a young man, but became an avid fisherman in the 1980s.  He continued this hobby of fishing throughout the remainder of his life.  If he wasn’t at the lake, you’d probably find him adjusting some fishing gear or retelling a story with one of his fishing buddies.  He would fish for most any fresh-water species given the opportunity, but mostly focused on crappie and catfish.  He owned several fishing boats over the years and could back up a boat trailer into the smallest of spaces.  In retirement, cruising was added to fishing and NASCAR as his favorite leisure time activities.  Gene and Erma Jean went on many cruises over the years, traveling with friends from NABC on most of them.

On February 16, 2023, Gene was called to his eternal home with Jesus Christ his Savior.   Gene is survived by his wife of 61 years, Erma Jean (Johnson) Rains, son, Kevin Rains (Shana), granddaughter, Courtney Schutte (Andrew), grandson, Tyler Rains, and many nieces and nephews.