Gene Alan Clough

AUBURN – Gene Alan Clough, an educator and exceptionally unusual human being who was concerned with the needs of others often to a point of great self-sacrifice, died Oct. 23, 2024, in Lewiston, of Alzheimer’s disease.

He was born June 2, 1947, in Wilmington, Del. He and his parents, Florence and Everett, moved to Long Beach, Calif., in 1948 where his sister, Elaine, was born in 1949.

From an early age, Gene excelled at virtually everything he attempted, from crazy hat days in elementary school to Boy Scouting, perfect grades and attendance virtually his entire life, a perfect GPA in undergraduate and graduate school at the California Institute of Technology, to preparing homemade Thanksgiving dinners and his tireless devotion to students at Bates College in Lewiston.

After high school and Long Beach Polytechnic High School, where he earned a host of awards, including National Merit Scholar, Westinghouse Scholar, valedictorian, and a National Science Foundation Fellowship, he attended Caltech, where he completed bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. His 1978 dissertation was titled, “A recirculating charge-coupled device: II The mercury selenide on n-silicon Schottky Barrier.”

He taught at Harvey Mudd before leaving California for Maine, where he taught physics at Bates for non-physics majors from 1978 until his retirement in 2016. He loved sitting on the campus with a telescope at night in case an interested student walked by and wanted to look up. He was particularly interested in the topography of the dark side of the moon. He assisted in the building of the college’s Olin Arts Center as a “mule” doing whatever he could regardless of the task, and he assisted in producing video recordings of campus performances and events for years. His humility was exceptional and he greatly influenced the lives of many through teaching and volunteering.

He is survived by his sister; a niece and nephew; and one great-nephew. He will be remembered by many.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a celebration of his life on Friday, Dec. 13, from 5 to 7 p.m., at The Fortin and Pinette Group, 305 Alfred A. Plourde Parkway, Lewiston.

Please visit http://www.LewistonFunerals.com to sign Gene’s guestbook and leave memories and condolences for the family.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Gene Clough Memorial Scholarship for the Study of Physics and Astronomy at Bates College or in support of Alzheimer’s research.