A funeral service for Eugene Willard Urban, age 90, of Fayetteville, Tennessee, will be held at 2 PM on Saturday, September 20, 2025, at Higgins Funeral Home. Pastor Jim Lauria and Howard Urban will officiate. The family will receive friends from 11 AM until the time of service at the funeral home.
Gene was born on April 20, 1935, in Omaha, Nebraska, to the late Willard Fred and Jean Ohler Urban. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1957, followed by a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Alabama. Gene went on to serve as mission scientist on the Spacelab 2 program, which launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on July 29, 1985. During his career with NASA, he traveled extensively, often spending his down time in libraries researching his family’s genealogy. Well before the advent of computers, Eugene had meticulously traced his family’s lineage back to the Mayflower’s arrival in North America in 1620. He retired from the Marshall Space Flight Center in 1998.
Though Gene’s professional life was filled with remarkable achievements, his true legacy was his unwavering dedication to his family and his profound capacity for caring for others.
On May 27, 1960, he married the love of his life, Barbara Joy Howard Urban, and together they built a beautiful life, celebrating 65 years of marriage. They were a couple with hearts of gold, committed to serving their community and those in need. In addition to raising their own six biological children, their family was made complete when they adopted two sons, with special needs, bringing their total to four girls and four boys. They also lovingly welcomed and cared for countless foster children.
Their compassion extended beyond their own home. In 1996, the Urban family opened Covenant Manor, an assisted living facility in Fayetteville. Gene was proud to have three generations of his family working alongside him, providing compassionate care to their residents. Gene was a man of faith, serving as an Elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Huntsville and later at St. John Presbyterian Church in Park City. He was also a longtime member of the Fayetteville Rotary Club. Gene passed away on September 14, 2025, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Gene was preceded in death by his parents, Willard and Jean Urban; his daughter-in-law, Nicki Urban; his grandson, Samuel Luke Urban; and his niece, Karen Moseley.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara; children, Roxane (Steve) Halburg, Nancy Bult, Susan Urban, Diane (Mark) Richardson, Carl (late Nicki) Urban, Howard (Kate) Urban, Matthew Urban, and Christopher Urban; grandchildren, Morgan (Jeremy) Lowry, Christy (Ryan) Rutledge, Howie Urban, Jacob Urban, Elaina Urban, Savannah Richardson, Brianna Richardson, Tristyn Urban, Kristofhor Urban, Lavinia Urban, and Evangeline Urban; great-granddaughters, Anna Lowry, Avery Lowry, Brylee Nunley, and Ada May Ferguson; his sister, Elizabeth Moseley; and his nieces and nephews, Debbie (Joey) Prince, Alan (Denise) Moseley, and Deanna (Mike) Lawrence.
Memorials may be made to the Lincoln County Veterans Warrior Exhibit, 113 Main Avenue N, Fayetteville, TN 37334; the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N Michigan Ave. Floor 17 Chicago, IL 60601; or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959.
Higgins Funeral Home is honored to be serving the family of Eugene Willard Urban.