If you’ve got a chance take it
Birthday wish from 2020
Forever Missed
Gina Richmond
129w
Spring flowers March and April 2024
I love you so much
VETERAN
In loving memory of
Darrell Eugene “Gene” Tench
December 13, 1948 – July 1, 2023
Lived 74 years
Forest Lawn West · Charlotte, North Carolina
Live to ride, ride to live
In service to country
Thank you for your service
Darrell served in the armed forces. We honor that service here.
Life story
Gene was born December 13th 1948 to Grafford and Doris Tench. He lived life to the fullest each and everyday. He went on to the US Army after graduating highschool. Gene served in the United States Army from 1968-1969. He was wounded in the Vietnam war by the grace of god made it home alive. He then was awarded a Purple Heart and then honorable discharge. After coming home from the war Gene went on to further is education as an electrician. He enjoyed his career as an electrician for many many years at Williams electric company in Charlotte, North Carolina. He eventually got to where he couldn’t work anymore and became a disabled veteran. He continued to support the US Army yearly by donating. He loved this country. He had many fur babies over the years including little bit, hydro, and Willie who was still living when he passed. Gene has one biological daughter Gina born in December of 1990 when married to Robin. He was over the moon and always wanted a little girl. He also has a step daughter over the years Vivienne who shares a mother with Gina. Gene has 3 grandchildren Braxton who belongs to Gina and then Madison & Michael who are Vivienne’s children. Willie is now in a new loving home with his sister Gina. He sure does miss his daddy whom he shared all of his time with up until his passing. Willie & Gina have helped each other through the loss of their daddy. Gene loved nascar, the panthers football team, riding his Harley, hanging with his friends, and just living everyday as if it were his last. He is so very missed by all of his loved ones.
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The world Darrell knew
Family milestones in gold, history for context
1948
Born December 13
1949
Darrell was 1 when Gene Autry recorded "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
1949
Darrell was 1 when NATO was founded
1949
Darrell was 1 when the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb
1950
Darrell was 2 when the first credit card was introduced
1950
Darrell was 2 when the Korean War began
1952
Darrell was 4 when NBC's "Today" show debuted
1953
Darrell was 5 when Swanson introduced the TV dinner
1953
Darrell was 5 when the first Chevrolet Corvette rolled out
1954
Darrell was 6 when "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance
1954
Darrell was 6 when Elvis Presley recorded "That's All Right"
1955
Darrell was 7 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat
1956
Darrell was 8 when the federal minimum wage rose to $1 an hour
1958
Darrell was 10 when Elvis Presley joined the Army
1958
Darrell was 10 when the first Pizza Hut opened in Wichita
1959
Darrell was 11 when NASA introduced the first astronauts
1960
Darrell was 12 when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union
1961
Darrell was 13 when construction of the Berlin Wall began
1962
Darrell was 14 when Marilyn Monroe died
1963
Darrell was 15 when ZIP codes were introduced
1964
Darrell was 16 when Ford unveiled the Mustang
1965
Darrell was 17 when The Sound of Music opened in theaters
1965
Darrell was 17 when the great Northeast blackout left 30 million people in the dark
1967
Darrell was 19 when the first Super Bowl was played
1967
Darrell was 19 when the first human heart transplant was performed
1968
Vietnam War Veteran
1968
Darrell was 20 when the Tet Offensive began in Vietnam
1968
Darrell was 20 when the first 911 emergency call was made
1968
Darrell was 20 when 60 Minutes premiered on CBS
1969
Darrell was 21 when "Sesame Street" debuted
1970
Darrell was 22 when the Beatles broke up
1970
Darrell was 22 when "Monday Night Football" debuted
1971
Darrell was 23 when Starbucks opened its first store in Seattle
1971
Darrell was 23 when the voting age was lowered to 18
1971
Darrell was 23 when Walt Disney World opened in Florida
1972
Darrell was 24 when HBO launched as a pay television service
1973
1973 Electrician
1973
Darrell was 25 when the first handheld cellphone call was made
1974
Darrell was 26 when a barcode was scanned at a store checkout for the first time
1975
Darrell was 27 when Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft
1975
Darrell was 27 when Saigon fell, ending the Vietnam War
1975
Darrell was 27 when "Jaws" opened as the first summer blockbuster
1975
Darrell was 27 when "Saturday Night Live" debuted
1976
Darrell was 28 when America celebrated its Bicentennial
1976
Darrell was 28 when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer
1977
Darrell was 29 when Apple introduced the Apple II personal computer
1977
Darrell was 29 when Star Wars opened in theaters
1977
Darrell was 29 when Elvis Presley died
1978
Darrell was 30 when Ben & Jerry's opened its first ice cream shop
1979
Darrell was 31 when McDonald's introduced the Happy Meal
1979
Darrell was 31 when Sony introduced the Walkman portable cassette player
1979
Darrell was 31 when ESPN began broadcasting
1981
Darrell was 33 when MTV began broadcasting
1981
Darrell was 33 when the American hostages in Iran were released
1981
Darrell was 33 when Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer
1981
Darrell was 33 when IBM introduced its Personal Computer
1982
Darrell was 34 when The Weather Channel began broadcasting
1982
Darrell was 34 when "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" opened in theaters
1982
Darrell was 34 when the compact disc first went on sale
1982
Darrell was 34 when the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington
1982
Darrell was 34 when Michael Jackson released "Thriller"
1982
Darrell was 34 when the first permanent artificial heart was implanted
1983
Darrell was 35 when Cabbage Patch Kids caused a holiday shopping frenzy
1983
Darrell was 35 when the final episode of M*A*S*H aired
1983
Darrell was 35 when Sally Ride became the first American woman in space
1983
Darrell was 35 when the first commercial cellphone service began in Chicago
1983
Darrell was 35 when Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a federal holiday by law
1985
Darrell was 37 when Coca-Cola introduced New Coke
1985
Darrell was 37 when Back to the Future opened in theaters
1985
Darrell was 37 when the wreck of the Titanic was found
1985
Darrell was 37 when the Nintendo Entertainment System arrived in America
1985
Darrell was 37 when Microsoft released the first version of Windows
1986
Darrell was 38 when the first federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day was observed
1986
Darrell was 38 when "The Oprah Winfrey Show" went national
1988
Darrell was 40 when a first-class stamp rose to 25 cents
1989
Darrell was 41 when the first operational GPS satellite was launched
1989
Darrell was 41 when "Seinfeld" premiered
1989
Darrell was 41 when the Nintendo Game Boy went on sale in America
1989
Darrell was 41 when the Berlin Wall fell
1989
Darrell was 41 when "The Simpsons" debuted as a series
1990
Parenthood
1990
Darrell was 42 when "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" debuted
1991
Darrell was 43 when the first website went online
1991
Darrell was 43 when the Super Nintendo went on sale in America
1992
Darrell was 44 when the Mall of America opened in Minnesota
1992
Darrell was 44 when the first text message was sent
1993
Darrell was 45 when "Jurassic Park" opened in theaters
1994
Darrell was 46 when "Friends" premiered
1995
Darrell was 47 when the GPS satellite system became fully operational
1995
Darrell was 47 when Amazon.com began selling books online
1995
Darrell was 47 when Microsoft released Windows 95
1995
Darrell was 47 when "Toy Story" became the first fully computer-animated film
1996
Darrell was 48 when Tickle Me Elmo sparked a holiday toy frenzy
1997
Darrell was 49 when DVD players went on sale in America
1997
Darrell was 49 when "Titanic" opened in theaters
1998
Darrell was 50 when the Furby became the must-have holiday toy
1998
Darrell was 50 when Apple released the colorful iMac
1998
Darrell was 50 when "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was published in America
1998
Darrell was 50 when Google was founded
1998
Darrell was 50 when Pokemon games arrived in America
1999
Darrell was 51 when Americans braced for the Y2K computer bug
2000
Darrell was 52 when the world entered 2000 with few Y2K computer problems
2000
Darrell was 52 when "Survivor" launched the reality TV boom
2001
Darrell was 53 when Wikipedia was launched
2001
Darrell was 53 when the United States began military operations in Afghanistan
2001
Darrell was 53 when Apple introduced the iPod
2002
Darrell was 54 when "American Idol" premiered
2003
Darrell was 55 when the Iraq War began
2003
Darrell was 55 when Apple opened the iTunes Music Store
2004
Darrell was 56 when Facebook was launched
2004
Darrell was 56 when former President Ronald Reagan died
2004
Darrell was 56 when the Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918
2005
Darrell was 57 when Google Maps was launched
2005
Darrell was 57 when the first video was posted to YouTube
2006
Darrell was 58 when Twitter was launched
2006
Darrell was 58 when the Nintendo Wii went on sale in America
2007
Darrell was 59 when Netflix began streaming movies online
2007
Darrell was 59 when the first iPhone went on sale
2007
Darrell was 59 when the final Harry Potter book was published
2007
Darrell was 59 when Amazon introduced the Kindle e-reader
2008
Darrell was 60 when Apple opened the App Store
2009
Darrell was 61 when the Bitcoin network was launched
2009
Darrell was 61 when U.S. television switched to digital broadcasting
2009
Darrell was 61 when Michael Jackson died
2009
Darrell was 61 when the federal minimum wage rose to $7.25 an hour
2010
Darrell was 62 when Apple's iPad went on sale
2010
Darrell was 62 when Instagram was launched
2011
Darrell was 63 when Snapchat was launched
2011
Darrell was 63 when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died
2011
Darrell was 63 when Siri arrived on the iPhone 4S
2014
Darrell was 66 when the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral
2015
Darrell was 67 when the Apple Watch went on sale
2016
Darrell was 68 when Pokemon Go sent millions outdoors hunting creatures
2016
Darrell was 68 when the Cubs won their first World Series since 1908
2017
Darrell was 69 when "Fortnite" became a video game phenomenon
2017
Darrell was 69 when fidget spinners became a schoolyard craze
2017
Darrell was 69 when the Nintendo Switch went on sale
2017
Darrell was 69 when a total solar eclipse crossed the United States
2018
Darrell was 70 when President Trump met North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un
2019
Darrell was 71 when the Disney+ streaming service launched
2022
Darrell was 74 when ChatGPT was released to the public
2022
Darrell was 74 when Queen Elizabeth II died after 70 years on the throne
2023
Passed away July 1, age 74
Tributes and memories
3 memories shared
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Gina Richmond
129w
You played the snap filter like a champ
I’m going to the moon 😂
Gina Richmond
129w
Decorating your resting place nov 2023
I know how you loved your yard solar lights and trinkets
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