Imogene “Genie” Cancellier passed away peacefully to be with her Lord on January 14 at St. Joseph’s Hospital at the age of 95.

She was born in Erwin, Tennessee, August 17,1929, the youngest of four to Rex and June McKinney. She graduated from Unicoi County High School in 1946 where she enjoyed playing on the Blue Devils girls basketball team while being every bit of 5‘2” tall. She and Russell C. Cumbie married August 29, 1946, her fresh out of High School and he just back from serving in the Navy on a destroyer in the Pacific during WWII. Russell and Genie moved to Klamath in 1950, welcoming their only child Michael in 1953 and where they resided until the 1955 floods in the town of Klamath and the Klamath Glen. It was at this time she started a long career of civic engagement by volunteering in the Red Cross during the flood, later moving to Eureka with Russell and their son Michael, where she lived the rest of her life.

Working at the old Lincoln’s art, books and gift store in downtown Eureka she developed friendships with many local artists and supported the arts in Eureka. She continued working in the community as a Den Mother for Cub Scouts, the PTA, Eureka Women’s Club, and Eastern Star. She loved her Scottish heritage and proudly sported her Clan MacKenzie tartan. Frequently working as a volunteer for Hobart Brown’s Kinetic Sculpture Races, she enjoyed the spectacle of it all.

Her great love though was for Coast Guard Humboldt Bay and the Navy League where she started as a local member, working through to being a state and then national director. Known as “The Coast Guard Mom” she worked to provide support and encouragement to service members and their families. She found great joy in organizing events for families through the holidays and never took no for an answer when she asked for donations for those celebrations. She made no distinction between Admiral or Seaman and was there for them. She was justifiably proud of being able to have Eureka designated one of the first two Coast Guard Cities in the United States. She was also a strong voice in support for the Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum and Leroy Zerlang and the historic vessel “Madaket.”

In her personal life she enjoyed decorating her home for the holidays, hosting parties and dressing to the nines. When she threw a party she threw a party. She was small in stature, but larger than life. She was direct and never left any doubt where she was coming from. Caring, she could be counted on to come through for both those she loved and those she just met. She will be missed by all who knew her. To her friends and caregivers who worked compassionately so Genie could stay in her home which was her desire and wish, Blessings to you all. It was Genie’s desire that no memorial services be observed and she was interred at Sunset Memorial Park between her husbands, who preceded her in death, Captain Norman J. Hubbenette and Michael “Ren” Cancellier. Genie’s family asks that she be remembered for the joy she brought to others in life, not the sadness of her passing.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Genie Cancillier’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.