Eugene “Gene” Elmer Cook, age 74, of Ellsworth died Saturday, October 18, 2014, at the River Falls Area Hospital.Gene was born on April 6, 1940 in Grand Rapids, MN, the son of Clarence and Doris (Brown) Carlson.He graduated from Ellsworth High School in 1958 and studied Spanish and Mexican studies in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, during the summers of 1961 and 1962. He earned a BA in Latin American Area Studies at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) in 1963.Gene served in the United States Navy, during the Vietnam War, from June 25, 1963, until his honorable discharge on July 12, 1967. Gene later earned a BS in Secondary Education and Broad Area Social Science at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls, in 1970.He taught high school social studies, history and geography in Somerset, WI 1970-1974,and later worked as a production foreman at Riedell Shoes in Redwing, MN 1974-1975. He worked with the Immigration and Naturalization Service 1976-2000 first as an immigration inspector and a training officer in San Ysidro, CA; then as an assistant chief inspector and a management system coordinator in Minneapolis, MN.Gene loved farming and gardening, hunting, fishing, history, genealogy, old-time radio shows, playing slot machines, and watching the stock market.Gene is survived by his daughters: JoAnne (Robert Thomas) Mullen, San Diego, CA and Michelle (Jeffrey) Rundell, Cottonwood Falls, KS.Sisters: Terri (Gary) Meyers, Ocala, FL; Chenoa Corrine (Wesley) Byers, Loveland, CO. Brothers: Delwin Cook, Red Wing, MN; Gary (Sue) Gordon, Maiden Rock, WI.Special friend, Lois Melstrom, Ellsworth, WI.He is further survived by nieces and nephews.Preceding him in death were his parents.Military honors will be provided by the veterans of the Kinne-Englehart American Legion Post #204 and VFW Post #9060, Ellsworth.