Eugene Joseph Volk

Eugene Joseph Volk (Gene, or Geno) died in his home in Mentor, Ohio, on January 28, 2025, at the age of 79. An avid fan of supernatural stories, we are certain he’s excited to finally be discovering those secrets now. Gene is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; his children: Lara Pickard (George), Lisa Robey (Stephen), Sara Volk de Garcia (Tzintzuni Garcia), Kim Ebbesen, Eugene Joseph Volk, Jr, and Janine Twigg (Joseph); by his 14 grandchildren: Karliah, Arianna, Tristan, and Nolan Pickard, Charlotte and Elizabeth Robey, Lorenzo Garcia, Sofia, Eva, and Amalia Ebbesen, Mackenzie and Bailey Volk, and Addison and Aidan Twigg; and his brother, Frank Volk. He is predeceased by his parents, Frank and Regina Volk, and his sister, Marie Volk. Born March 3, 1945, in Cleveland, Ohio, Eugene Joseph Volk (Gene, or Geno) was the youngest of 3 siblings. He graduated from St Ignatius High School in 1963, after which he purchased and ran a Mobil gas station with his brother for two years. He then enlisted in the Army. Gene entered the Army as a Private and did Basic Training at Fort Hood, Texas. He joined the 1st Battalion 41st Infantry Regiment 2nd Armored Division as an Infantry Ops & Intelligence Specialist, and earned the Army Marksmanship Qualification Badge for Rifle. However, an accident at the range left him with hearing loss, and he served the remainder of his five years of service in the Ohio National Guard. He was honorably discharged as a Specialist Four E-4, HHC 112th Engineer Battalion. A major arc of Gene’s life is his service with the police. Upon leaving the Army, he entered Basic Police Training, from which he graduated 2nd in his class in 1967. He joined the Cleveland Police Department, starting as a Basic Patrol Officer in 1967, promoted to Detective in 1970, and finally joining the Homicide Unit as Detective in 1972. He would “protect and serve” the people of Cleveland by solving their murders for the next 21 years, retiring from the CPD in 1993. There are stories; here is not the place to tell them. Except to say that it is unfortunately common that patients in a city ER become victims in a homicide investigation, and that it was because of this pattern that he encountered a strong, funny MetroHealth ER nurse named Liza, who became his wife in 1977. For 47 years, they faced the world as partners in life (and partners in cards). Sometimes it was side by side, eyes looking towards a common goal; sometimes it was back to back, fighting off challenges and having each other’s backs. In all cases - there was love. Gene believed in continuing education; while working the force, he earned his Associate Arts in Criminal Justice from Notre Dame College (1975). Gene then earned his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Lake Erie College (1980). While at CPD, he sought out opportunities for additional training and seminars. Even after retiring from CPD, he took Police Advanced Training at the University of Akron (1997), and scored 2nd in the class on the state exam. Long before hustle culture was a thing on anyone’s radar – Gene stretched beyond his full-time police work with assorted side hustles to help support his growing family (those kids of his needed their jelly shoes, trendy bracelets, and Malibu Musk from Drug Mart!). Many of these were evening or overnight security jobs, including one at a bread factory and a long-term position at the Blue Cross/Blue Shield building downtown. He also was hired by Hooper Insurance to take pictures for claims verification. After retiring from CPD, his side hustle was teaching at Lakeland Community College, where he developed and taught courses in Community Policing, Criminal Investigation, Criminalistics, and Forensic Photography. Although he had retired from big-city policing, the desire to use his training and skills to protect communities remained. Gene initially joined the staff of the Mentor Public Library as a Security Technician, with mixed success. On the one hand – there were very few security incidents in the 3 years he worked there, so he must have been massively successful at preventing criminal mischief. (There was even some minor heroism related to an incident with a squirrel in the book drop.) On the other hand – the 40% hearing loss that he incurred while serving in the Army meant that people needed to talk pretty loudly for him to hear them, which is a bit of a mismatch for a library environment. Finding suburban library security somewhat unfulfilling, Gene looked for opportunities to continue to use his well-honed police training without having to take Dead Man’s Curve. He initially worked at the Waite Hill Police Department, but this was not a comfortable fit for him. He found a more compatible home in the neighboring Kirtland Police Department, where he worked as a part-time officer from 1998 until his final retirement in 2010. He liked the people of Kirtland and his colleagues in the department, and he enjoyed the night shift, driving around the dark Kirtland roads, naming the deer and generally keeping the peace. Some highlights include chasing a peacock that was causing traffic issues, and investigating two separate reports of a lion in the woods. But surely, the stories untold to us are the many unassuming ways Gene helped people, like helping people whose car broke down, reassuring parents of a briefly-missing child or comforting shaken victims of a crime. Although a core part of Gene’s identity was that he was a police officer, it certainly was not the only identity Gene had. Some others include: • Proud Bohemian: He was fiercely proud of his Bohemian ancestry, and tried to rustle up support for a Bohemian Day Parade to rival the Irish and St Patrick’s Day. Sadly, this was unsuccessful. • Treasure Hunter: Perhaps related to his detective skills, Gene enjoyed treasure hunt stories, and looking for treasure himself through metal detecting and careful examination of all the coins that passed through his hand. Although he never found a “Big One,” he leaves behind a collection of Wheat pennies and other interesting coins. • Committed Luddite: In a world of rapid technological advancement, Gene was proud to be doing things old-school. He used a typewriter for all his police reports and anything he didn’t hand-write. He had to be the last person in Ohio using a pager in the early 2010s. An exception is his smartphone – although dragged into smartphone ownership kicking and screaming, he was surprisingly adept with it, and even created his own GIFs! But perhaps the most important identity to him was Proud Dad; he loved all of his children, near and far, and celebrated their accomplishments and mourned their losses with his whole self. Gene was confident their success would be his legacy. (Well… their success, and the contents of The Basement.) Gene certainly had his quirks, however, he was extremely loyal to brands, stores, and service providers. Thanks to a strong combination of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t,” we expect condolences for our loss from Nationwide, Giant Eagle, Joe’s Auto Center, Spectrum, Chewy, John Dewar and Sons, and numerous other of Gene’s favorites. (We have already heard from Drug Mart, his favorite of all the favorites.) Gene was a loyal customer - but woe to the product that betrays him. After once cutting his lip on the pop-top opening on his beer can, Gene spent the next decades drinking from the bottom of the can, opened with a churchkey. Along with all of this, Gene will be remembered for his small everyday acts of kindness and love - putting gas in EVERYONE’s cars, doing the shopping, getting someone their favorite snack or a special treat. He seemed to know and be loved by everyone. We all feel the loss of his enthusiastic greeting, “Hey, you!” with an excited hand wave. The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 11, 2025 at the Brunner Sanden Deitrick Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 8466 Mentor Ave., Mentor, OH 44060. A funeral mass in Gene’s memory will be held 12 noon Saturday, April 12, 2025 at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 8560 Mentor Ave., Mentor, OH 44060 (Please meet at the church.) Private family inurnment will be held in Mentor Cemetery at a later date. Please offer condolences or remembrances at www.brunners.com. If you’d like to view an album of photos of Gene, or you have some to contribute, you can check out the album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Uo1S2MdwrXGZyNGL8

Eugene Joseph Volk

March 3, 1945 - January 28, 2025