Dr. Gene Mason, Climber, Skier And World Traveler, `Did It All'

Gene Mason really did "do it all."

Dr. Mason, an Everett anesthesiologist, was a world-class mountain climber, an outdoor enthusiast, a sports-car racer, a skier, a world traveler, and an author, among other things.

When his wife, Lucille, demanded that he give up mountain climbing after a 1,200-foot tumble down a mountain side, Dr. Mason complied.

"But he took up hang-gliding," says a longtime friend, Jim Mark, of San Francisco.

Even after he had a heart transplant in 1990, Dr. Mason continued an active life which included returning to Africa to teach once again and a white-water rafting trip down the Zambezi River in Zambia.

"He enjoyed doing new and interesting things," Mark said.

But Dr. Mason's body finally could sustain him no longer and he died Wednesday of heart-related complications in University Hospital at the age of 64.

"He's probably the most extraordinary person I've ever known," said Linda Mason Wilgis, one of Dr. Mason's daughters. "He had this kind of attitude that you had limitless potential and he was very imaginative," she said.

Lori Mason, another daughter, says their father "let us know we should never doubt our potential. If you want to do something you should try to do it."

Their lessons of life started early and strenuously. Dr. Mason traveled to Africa where he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in East Africa, not by the tourist route but a much more difficult climb.

Then he decided the whole family should climb the 19,340-foot mountain, too. He wanted his family to see Africa before it became too developed.

Her father liked being first in doing things and at the time, 1972, "there probably had never been a whole family do it," Lori said.

Lori, the youngest, got her picture in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of Sports Illustrated magazine for being the youngest person to have climbed the mountain, she said.

"Minus Three" was the title of Dr. Mason's book about his mountain-climbing exploits. Besides Mount Kilimanjaro, Dr. Mason conquered some of the tallest peaks on four continents, including Mount McKinley in Alaska, Mount Aconcagua in Chile, and Mount Elbrus in the Republic of Georgia in the former Soviet Union.

His other book was more lighthearted. "Save Your License," was the title but he wanted to call it, "How to Keep the Fuzz Off Your Tail," his daughters said. It outlined how to avoid getting pulled over by the police for driving too fast.

Dr. Mason wrote it when the freeway speed limit was reduced from 70 to 55 miles-per-hour. He maintained that people drove poorly even at the slower speed. The idea was that people should learn how to do things well, like driving, and take more responsibility for their own actions, Linda explained.

Dr. Mason's sense of humor showed through even while awaiting a donor heart in San Francisco. While there, Dr. Mason was asked to speak at an annual fund-raising benefit for the Northern California Transplant Donor Network, the organization attempting to arrange a heart replacement for him.

He told the crowd, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart and next year I hope to be able to thank you from the bottom of someone else's heart," Mark recalled.

When he arrived back in Everett after the transplant surgery he was wearing a sweat shirt with the message: "I left my heart in San Francisco."

Dr. Mason taught medicine in several African countries, donating his time. He lived in Tanzania with his family in 1972-73, returning there in 1981 and he practiced in Zambia in 1991.

In Everett, he practiced at both Providence and Everett General hospitals.

Besides his two daughters, Dr. Mason is survived by his wife, Lucille, of Lake Stevens; two sons, Robert Mason of Alexandria, Va., and Jeff Mason of Everett, and two grandchildren.

A ceremony celebrating Dr. Mason's life will be held Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at the Purdy and Walters with Cassidy Funeral Home in Everett. A private gathering for family and friends will follow at the Mason home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Northern California Transplant Donor Network, 1600 California St., #360, San Francisco, CA 94109.