The following obituary was provided in its entirety by a Booth family member.

+++

Eugene L. Booth of Weston passed peacefully on September 26, 2022. He was 87 years old.

Eugene (Gene) L. Booth was born November 21, 1935, to Eugenia (Jean) and Russell Augustus Booth at Monmouth Memorial Hospital in Long Branch, NJ. and raised in Red Bank.

Gene L. Booth was elected president of MLK Business Forms, Inc. in February 2003. MLK is a minority-owned and operated manufacturer of traditional business forms. Gene was responsible for the overall management and administration of the corporation including operations, personnel transactions and staff training and development.

From 1983 to 2002 Gene was the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights.  In this capacity, he managed the anti-discrimination laws in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit. He was responsible for negotiating cooperative agreements with HUD and EEOC to issue that federal laws were enforced in R.I. Gene served on several boards and committees including the mission for the Traffic Stops Statistics Act (racial profiling bill).  He was a co-founder of the Rhode Island Association of Affirmative Action Professionals (AAAP) and the Rhode Island Coalition for Affirmative Action.

Gene, a Dartmouth College graduate, was previously employed as the Director of Educational Programs for Disabled Students at state schools (Bureau of Institutional Schools) throughout Massachusetts. Gene served on the Advisory Board for Technical Assistance (TAPP) project and was a member of the board of the Federation for Children with Special Needs in Boston.

During the early 1970s, Gene was responsible for EEO programs, OSHA compliance and related personnel programs at the Carol Cable Company in Pawtucket, R.I.  He had extensive experience in a wide range of human rights endeavors and is a mediator certified by the American Arbitration Association.

Gene coached the freshman and was the Assistant Varsity Basketball Coach and an instructor in the Physical Education Department at Brandeis University in the 1960s. Later in that decade he was a Systems Research Officer at the First National Bank of Boston and was responsible for managing the bank’s “Forms Control and Design” operation.

Gene was a New England Hall of Fame athlete, named as an outstanding guard for Coach Doggie Julian’s basketball teams at Dartmouth from 1954-57. 

He was predeceased by his parents Jean and Russell, his brothers Frank, Warren, and Russell, cousin Arnold, and nephew Warren Jr.

Gene is survived by wife Flora J. Booth, Weston, MA; daughter and sons Robyn L. Booth, Boston, MA; Eugene L. Booth Jr, Newtown, MA; Arnold T. Booth, Revere, MA; Edmund A. Booth, Huntington, VT; Winthrop E. Booth, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

He is also survived by many nieces and nephews: Wanda Booth Fisher, Neptune, NJ; Gail Booth Carter, Silver Spring, MD;  Ann Booth Barbarin, West Chester, PA; Dawn Booth, Bethesda, MD; Jeanne Booth, Silver Spring, MD; Russell Booth, Burlington, NJ; Frank Michael Booth, Medford, MA

A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 A.M. at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Weston, MA, on Saturday, October 15, with a reception to follow. The Service will be Livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/StPetersChurchWeston

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Institute for Black Intellectual and Cultural Life in memory of Eugene L. Booth.  Gifts can be sent to: Dartmouth College, Gift Recording Office, 6066 Development Office, Hanover, NH 03755. (Note on check gift for the Institute for Black Intellectual and Cultural Life in memory of Eugene L. Booth). For credit card gifts, please call 603-646-0098 or give online at https://calltolead.dartmouth.edu/opportunities/institute-black-intellectual-and-cultural-life-gift-fund.