The Gene R. Mauk Effect

 

I have known Gene Mauk for around 51 years. Knowing Gene for that length of time, I am bound to have been influenced by him, especially when 96% of that time has been spent as an in-law. Some of Gene inevitably rubbed off on me, and I believe that because of his impact, I am a better man.

The great love he has for Jan, his wife, and his four children, Cindy (Cynthia), Steve (Stephen), Rob (Robert), and John (John) worked wonders in making me a better husband and father.

Gene’s attention to detail showed in restoring his beloved 1930 Ford Model A made me a better woodworker on my various little projects and a better mechanic on our various vehicles.

Gene’s passion for hiking and mountain climbing, and his focus on the many lists for these and other pursuits, including seeing total eclipses, overnighting in all 50 states, and others, inspire me to be aspirational. I’ve created a list based on the trifold, “City of Glendale Trails and Fire Roads”, which I found in Gene’s office. I am hiking them to honor my Father-in-law.

Jan and Gene both valued education and were awarded college degrees. Jan demonstrated this by investing in the PTA and serving on the board for several years in various capacities, including as President. She also worked in libraries serving children at the heart of education. Gene manifested his value of education in the drive for his degree by working a full-time job and being a father while attaining his degree from California State Los Angeles.

The effect was that all four of their children attained four-year degrees. Rob earned a PhD in Molecular Biology. Cindy received an AA at Glendale Junior College, then completed Nursing School through Pasadena City College, and followed those up years later with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, leading to her receiving master’s degrees and a Doctorate in Psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary. All three of Cindy’s and my children received degrees. I am thankful that Gene and Jan set the bar high. They probably would have locked Cindy away from me had I not earned my degree before we got married.

The Gene Mauk effect reached across generations. He loved being a grandfather and getting involved whenever he could with whatever his grandchildren and great-grandchildren were doing.

The Grand Effect:

From Ashley Cornelius:

List of how I think grandpa has affected my life:

- love of nature and outdoors

- love of experiencing new places and learning about them

- knowing the value of family

- being responsible

 

(In these four bullet items, I found volumes of Gene’s effect on my kids and their lives. I am grateful to him for the affection he showed us all.)

 

From Trevor Mauk:

 

Anyone who knew my grandfather (Papa) would agree that his sense of adventure and admiration of the world's beauty is contagious. I've thought about a couple of ways he has affected me throughout my life, and how I can carry on Papa's legacy through my own mindset and actions.

 

Ingenuity and Curiosity: I recently asked Papa to confirm this story during one of my recent visits because I find it incredible, especially through the lens of our modern information era. When he was a teenager, Papa was passionate about astronomy and set out to build a telescope. Using only books he checked out from his local library, he constructed a large, fully functioning telescope; this included machining various mirrors and lenses and repurposing industrial pipe to act as the telescope body. Incredibly, though unsurprising considering Papa's grit, he got it to work. This was the same telescope I viewed stars and planets through in the La Crescenta backyard when I was a young boy. 

 

I think this is a wonderful example of how Papa lived his life with curiosity and the discipline to understand how the world works—a burning desire to understand the beauty and complexity of the universe, and a relentless determination to take a 'peek under the hood' at how it functioned. I try to carry this same spirit as I move through life, whether it's understanding how the latest car engine functions or how a snippet of code powers a web app. He taught me there is joy in understanding the details of the world.

 

Adventure and Beauty: Anyone who knows (or even knows of) Papa will know he has an incredibly adventurous spirit. I am grateful for the breathtaking hikes, camping, and summits he pushed us to tackle during our winter and summer camping trips. I find more and more of this in myself, especially as I grow older. I've begun to go on weekly hikes, challenging myself to achieve new distance/elevation personal records and seek out new beautiful places. This has allowed me to connect with the beauty of the world and myself in unique ways that I'm doubtful I'd be able to find within other areas of my life. I'm grateful for Papa's inspiration, which has pushed me to seek out natural beauty and appreciate the details in my environment.

 

I'd be hard-pressed not to mention how Papa kept this adventurous spirit going up until the very, very end. Not everyone can say they completed a 14-mile alpine hike with their grandfather in their 90s. Papa's ability to carry this mental and physical strength late into life has encouraged me to take care of myself so that I can do the same—and has made me look forward to the later years in life knowing I can still find joy and adventure in the outdoors with great company.

From Riley Mauk:

 

My grandfather, or "Poppy," as I would come to know him during the first 28 years of my life, is nothing short of remarkable in terms of the life he lived and the impact it had on me.

 

He was always there, from my earliest memories of celebrating annual holidays and family birthdays at his house to going to my basketball games and school activities. He never missed anything in the world. I am very grateful for his presence throughout my life, as it instilled the importance of family in me at a young age.

 

His sense of adventure runs in the family, and I witnessed it firsthand from my early memories of backpacking in the Sierras to our desert trips exploring old, abandoned ghost towns. I'm so fortunate that I was able to share these experiences with my grandfather, like hiking along the PCT with him in the Sierras and Cascades.

 

One of my fondest memories was when he stood at the trailhead of Whitney Portal to congratulate me (and the rest of the team) on successfully reaching the peak earlier that day.

 

My grandfather affected my life in a number of ways, most notably: the foundation and importance of family, his love of the Sierras, and the State of California, as well as the Los Angeles area, and the passion for traveling and exploring new places.

From Lauren Chambers:

My Grandpa, Gene Mauk, was always a loving presence in my life.  But as a child and growing up, I always gravitated towards Nana.  After Nana’s stroke and she was living at Oak Park Healthcare Center, I spent many mornings or afternoons visiting Nana.  Sometimes the visits had numerous people there, and sometimes it was just Grandpa and me.  I got to know my Grandpa in a whole new way and grew a deeper relationship with him.  For me, this was the bright silver lining of the dark cloud of my Nana’s stroke.     This relationship ultimately led to my daughter being named Becca Gene.  I hope the “Gene Mauk effect” will continue by passing down their stories and acting in kind, loving, and thoughtful ways. 

From Daniel White:

In the mountains and the night sky, in an overture of classical music, I am with my Grandpa. Grandpa’s relationship with these elements has forever affected mine.

By far, the most epic backpacking journey of my life was a trip I took with just me and him - 75 miles of the PCT in 10 days, from Sonora Pass to Tuolumne Meadows. We all know of Grandpa’s meticulous planning and tracking with lists, but what I remember most about that journey was simply his joy of being in his element up in the Sierras. One day in particular was a difficult hike, up the side of a deep valley, reaching the apex, only to look across another valley we were to traverse before dark. Every time I reached a peak, I would wait for a few minutes for him to catch up, and every time he caught up, a huge grin from ear to ear, showing both his satisfaction of overcoming and pure wonderment at nature’s marvel. Another day, while we took our lunch break, we decided we would try to camp out by a lake a little off the trail instead of the designated campsite. We had so much fun just locating this lake we found on the map. We reached the point in the trail where we calculated the lake to be, got our compasses out, and headed directly into the dense forest. And we ran right into it, it turned out to be little more than a pond, but he took so much delight in our successful diversion from the plan and finding a place a little less travelled.

He also affected me in my appreciation of the sky. As you can imagine, we spent a fair amount of time looking up at the cosmos on our trips while we sat by our humble campfires and pondered our place in the universe. I also admired his dedication in building his own telescope and the way he took great pleasure in capturing views of other worlds so far away. I often think about those times still, when I stargaze today.

I also have a greater appreciation for classical music because of Grandpa. We would listen to classical music on our long drives to the trailheads. I then started mixing some into my rotation of alternative, grunge, punk, and ska. He would sometimes test me if I knew the composer of a song that came on and he would look so full of pride when I would get one right occasionally. I remember he asked the question at a family party one time, and I was the only one who got it right - Vivaldi, if memory serves me right - and I felt a great sense of pride as I saw how happy Grandpa was that I had gotten it right.

So no big thing, Grandpa only affected me by teaching me to appreciate the mountains, the sky, and the sound of music.