EUGENE C. BEST. Born October 7, 1927. Died Sept. 2, 2024. Best friend for 76 and husband for 51 years of Eileen Lambden. Brother of Sister Lois Best, S.N.D. Brother-in-law of Lucy Best. Preceded in death by Eileen; by parents Eugene and Frances; and siblings Marita (Bernard), Bill (Carol), Lou, and Bob (Pam). Proud and loving uncle of many nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren.
He was born in Collinwood. From Cathedral Latin high school he went to St. Gregory Minor Seminary, Cincinnati, then to St. Mary Seminary, Cleveland. Sent to study in Rome, he was ordained a priest there in 1952. After pastoral work at St. Joseph parish (Cuyahoga Falls), he was sent back to Rome to earn his Doctorate in Sacred Theology in 1956. After further pastoral work at St. William parish (Euclid), he was appointed professor of Fundamental Theology at St. Mary Seminary in 1957 and also taught at Ursuline College. In addition he was appointed director of radio and television for the diocese of Cleveland. He hosted a weekly WJW radio program, Commitment, and began the televising of Sunday Mass on WEWS.
Gene was the last living Clevelander who took part in Vatican Council II. Invited to Vatican Council II as a journalist, Archbishop Hoban charged him to "bring back to the Diocese the changes coming out of this Council." He won a national Gabriel award for best radio reporting on the Council.
In 1965 he was appointed director of the diocesan Newman Apostolate, with residence at Case Western Reserve University. While acting as Newman chaplain there, he also taught in its Religion Department, earned an M.A. in cultural anthropology, and served as vice president of the Catholic Broadcasters Association. His Newman predecessor at CWRU had been a key player at the Vatican Council; in his memory, Gene initiated the Archbishop Hallinan Chair of Catholic Studies and the Hallinan Student Center (now the Hillel Foundation) at CWRU, and the Newman Foundation Corporation.
Dispensed from his priestly obligations in 1971, he married Eileen, and they moved to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. At Marist College he taught in and was chairman of the Religious Studies department, and served as E.E.O.C./Affirmative Action officer. He was also president of the Dutchess County Interfaith Council, and an active member of the local Democratic Party.
With successive grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, he did post-doctoral studies at Columbia University, the University of California (Berkeley), and the University of Wisconsin. On a sabbatical grant from Marist he and Eileen were in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Nepal, and China where he observed and participated in the religions of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism
Through the years Gene and Eileen traveled across the U.S., Europe, Egypt, the Holy Land, Greece, Turkey, the Mediterranean, Northern Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America. After retirement from Marist they returned to their Cleveland roots, to the Laurel Lake Retirement Community in Hudson, OH. There Gene was editor of the Volunteer Newsletter, and taught a variety of courses on biblical and theological topics. Declining health left him increasingly sedentary and reclusive, but he remained an avid emailer, reader and scholar, loving husband, supportive uncle and kind good friend to the end.
His daily and dying prayer was: "For all that has been, God, Thanks. And for all that will be, Yes!" He has been cremated. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm Saturday, September 28th, at the Laurel Lake Community Room. In lieu of flowers please make donations in his memory and honor to Notre Dame/Cathedral Latin school, the Notre Dame sisters, Marist College, or to the Laurel Lake Retirement Community.
Gene and Eileen were a long time member of CORPUS.
Survived by her best friend for 76 years and beloved husband of 53 years Eugene C. Best. Preceded in death by her parents George and Bridget Ann Lambden, her sister Mary Veronica Koch. Survived by her cousin Pat Morgan. Childless herself, she was a kindhearted, loving and motherly aunt to 15 nieces and nephews and their many children and grandchildren; a devoted teacher of thousands of students; and a visionary mentor of her colleagues as an administrator. After elementary school at St. Joseph (Collinwood), she attended Notre Dame Academy where she was her class president and award-winning editor of her school paper. She took vows as Notre Dame Sister Georgemarie in February, 1947, taught at several of their high schools and then at Notre Dame College, where she had earned her B.A. degree. She earned her M.A. degree at Notre Dame University. Dispensed from her religious vows, she joined with nine other women to form an experimental religious community in Pueblo, Colorado. She became a tenured professor at Southern Colorado State College. She then earned a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. After Gene was dispensed from his priestly obligations, they married in 1971, and moved to Poughkeepsie, NY. There she first taught at Marist College and set up a program for handicapped students. Next she worked in Community Services at Dutchess Community College, then became the Associate Academic Dean of Faculty. She concluded her professional career as Director of the Office for the Aging for Dutchess County. She returned to Cleveland in 2007, enjoying her final years at Laurel Lake Retirement Community. There she was known for her readiness to volunteer and her always cheerful demeanor. She loved to travel as an educational experience: across the United States, Europe, Mexico, Latin America, the Middle East, India and China. In her commitment to social justice and the Democratic Party she followed her father’s advice to “always remember you are a child of the working class.” Her life was the personification of magnanimity. Her love of learning endures via scholarships she endowed at Notre Dame Cathedral Latin High School and Marist College. In lieu of flowers, please donate in her memory and honor to Notre Dame College or for the education of staff at the Laurel Lake Retirement Community. A memorial service will be planned for later.