William Ivey

William Eugene "Gene" Ivey, 88, died Sunday, March 16, 2014, at Dade Health & Rehab. Survivors include several nieces and nephews and a second family of music students. Mr. Ivey was born Feb. 25, 1926 in Paint Rock, Ala. He served his country during WW II with the U.S. Marines. While in the South Pacific he was asked to repair a fiddle that was broken, and that would be the beginning of his instrument making and repairing career. He owned and operated Iveys Service Staion and Tire Center where folks gathered to talk and make music. He was a charter member of the Ider Rescue Squad, a member of Ider Ashlar Lodge and a Deacon of Five Points Baptist Church. He and his wife Louise taught music and hosted an Ole Time Fiddlers gathering at Ider Park. His love for music lives on with the students he taught and in the instruments he crafted that will be handed down to future generations. He was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and some of his instruments are displayed at the Smithsonian Museum. Mr. Ivey was preceded in death by his parents, William Riley and Debbie Ann Evans Ivey; wife, Louise Shrader Ivey; brothers, Orville and Clyde Ivey; sisters, Oma Little, Evelyn Brown, Pauline Lewis. Leave condolences online at www.cornerstonefuneralchapel.com. Funeral services are at 2 p.m. CST today at Corner Stone Funeral Chapel with Brother Kenneth Brown and Brother Johnny Ellison officiaitng. Burial will follow in New Hope Cemetery with military honors. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until service time today.