Gene Hallinan

Gene Marie Hallinan, age 64, passed away on Tuesday, May 2 at Kansas City Hospice
House after a year-long battle with leukemia. Gene was born July 5, 1958 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to
Jim and Mary Tracey. She was one of four Tracey children.

She attended Bishop Kelly High School in Tulsa and then went to Creighton University in Omaha, where she earned a degree in journalism. It’s also where she met her future husband, Bob. Bob’s job was to stand in the lobby of Swanson Hall on the night of a Delta Upsilon party and offer rides to the fraternity house to all the cute sorority girls. Gene, a member of Theta Phi Alpha, just happened to end up in the front seat next to Bob. They really hit it off and after Gene graduated, they were married in 1980.

They spent the first six years of their marriage living and working in Omaha before a job
opportunity for Bob brought them to Kansas City, Bob’s hometown. They began raising a family,
and soon, Gene was acting as a Boy Scout leader for Patrick and a Girl Scout leader for Mary.
One of her proudest moments was when Patrick achieved his Eagle Scout Rank. She also became
a “Horse Show Mom” for Mary, going with her to shows around the Metro and the country,
including the Morgan Grand Nationals in Oklahoma City, where she was thrilled to watch Mary place 10th in the country. She loved participating in all their activities, plus working a full-time job and being a fantastic cook. Her favorite expression after spending hours working on a meal, such as her famous Chicken Roll-Ups, was “It was easy!”

Gene’s career as a communicator took her to the Wahoo News, Touche Ross accounting,
University of Nebraska Medical Center, ICF Kaiser Engineers, Black and Veatch, Overland Park
Regional Medical Center, Centerpoint Medical Center and finally to Harvesters, the Community
Food Network.

But Gene’s favorite title in all her years of working was “Grammie.” Her four grandchildren, Wyatt, Justin, Jackson, and most recently Kinzleigh, adored her and she loved them so much, planning birthdays and Christmas, shopping for toys, going to as many of their activities as possible and in general, spending time with them.

Gene was preceded in death by her parents, Jim and Mary Tracey, her sister Margaret
Metcalf and her brother Tom Tracey. She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Bob Hallinan
of their home in Olathe, Kansas, son Patrick Hallinan of Eudora, Kansas (sons Justin and Jackson Hallinan, partner Karissa Aldrich and her daughter Kinzleigh Aldrich), daughter Mary Puckett of Basehor, Kansas (partner Colton Lopez and son Wyatt Pucket) and her sister Donna Littrel (Bill) of Aransas Pass, Texas.

Visitation will be Wednesday, May 10 from 9:30 to 10:30 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 13615 W. 92 nd St, Lenexa KS. The funeral Mass is at 10:30 followed by lunch in the church social room. Graveside services will then take place at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 126 th and Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, KS.

Gene and Bob wish to thank all the doctors and staff at The University of Kansas Cancer
Center for their kind and compassionate care during her treatment. They especially want to thank Dr. Charlie Porter, who told Gene after learning of her terminal diagnosis, “You now have the chance to live every day as a person and not as a patient.” Those words helped make her final days happy ones.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to The University of Kansas Cancer
Center, The Girl Scouts of America, or Harvesters. Assistance by Funeral Advocates, LLC.