July 3, 1940 ~ April 13, 2026 (age 85)
Jesse Eugene “Gene” Covington went to the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on April 13, 2026. Gene was born on July 3, 1940, in Birmingham, Alabama.
He met Janice Wilson at Samford University and married her in 1960.
Gene completed his Pharmacy degree at Auburn University in 1963. He then served in the US Army Medical Service Corps in Ft. Bliss, Texas, from 1964 to 1967 with final rank of Captain.
He and Janice moved back to “The Valley” to raise their family as owners of “Gene’s Drugs” for seven years. After hearing a missionary speaker, Gene and Janice felt God was calling them to the mission field. They moved to Ft. Worth, Texas, to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Gene worked in the hospital while completing his Master of Divinity degree. He and Janice served as missionaries at the Ghana Baptist Mission Hospital from 1977 until 1988.
Afterward they moved back to the Valley and were part of many local ministries including Celebrate Recovery.
Later Gene led medical teams to Ghana for summer relief work. He and Janice celebrated 59 years of marriage before her death in 2019.
Gene is survived by daughters, Karen Thompson (Alan) and Julie Stodghill (Paul), 8 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren, and sisters Dorothy Burleson, Joyce Kilcrease, and Susan Hoffman.
A Celebration of Life Service for Gene will take place at Journey Church, in Valley, on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 4:00 pm EST.
Visitation will be at the church 30 minutes prior.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Journey Church designated “Lottie Moon/Foreign Missions”.
Please visit Gene’s Memorial Tribute page at www.johnsonbrownservicefh.com to leave a kind word for his family, to share a memory of Gene, or to light a Remembrance Candle in his memory.
Johnson Brown-Service Funeral Home of Valley directing.
Local Obituaries brought to you by Frederick-Dean and Valley Point Funeral Homes. “Serving our communities in their time of need”.
