Gene Irwin Poland

Gene Irwin Poland was born on September 24, 1941 in Kansas City, Missouri. He was the son of W. Irwin and Doris (Barnett) Poland. Gene graduated from Olathe High School in 1959. In 1966, He received a Bachelor of Arts from Baker University in accounting. On September 11,1965 he married Mary Kathryn Trabert of Olathe, Kansas. Gene worked for IBM for 39 years as a Systems Analyst, retiring in 2005. Through his work, the couple lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Overland Park, Prairie Village and Olathe, Kansas; Los Altos, California; and ultimately settled in Marietta, Georgia. Gene was an active member in their communities. He earned his Eagle Scout Award during his high school years. Gene was the President of the Overland Park, Kansas Jaycee and chaired the state Jaycee Convention held in Overland Park. When soccer was a new sport in Kansas, Gene became a youth soccer referee. One of the reasons they chose the location of their Georgia home was the community tennis courts. Gene was very active in his local tennis league, ALTA. He was team captain for many years. During that time, his team won division trophies on several occasions. Gene was one of the original organizers of a recreational tennis league in his community of Weatherstone and participated in its activities for over 38 years. While traveling to the tennis courts, the neighbors could hear Gene coming down the road. The muffler on his 1968 powder blue convertible Mustang gave him away. Gene was also an avid bridge player. Gene and Mary Kay have enjoyed various travels overseas, including places such as Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Budapest, Prague, London, Germany, France and Spain. On one of their trips to Spain, they taught conversational English for Pueblo Ingles. Their favorite trips were to Seattle, Washington and Annapolis, Maryland to see their children and grandchildren. Gene is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Kay; two children, Sean Poland (Britt) and Niki Stolarczyk (Steve); three grandchildren, Emily and Ryan Stolarczyk and Gillian Poland; two brothers, Steve Poland (Sandy) and Mike Poland (Joyce). Gene always enjoyed a good pun.Such as: Why did the man buy 9 racquets? Because tennis too much.Gene and his sense of humor will be missed. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to:Special Pops Tenniswww.specialpopstennis.org(404) 702-5820