A few weeks after celebrating his 105th birthday, Eugene “Gene” Knight England, chairman emeritus of C.R. England, died November 13.
“Gene England’s passing is a great loss to the C.R. England family and the trucking industry at large. His legacy will live on through the lives he touched and the company he built,” the Salt Lake City-based fleet announced in a statement. The refrigerated and general freight carrier is No. 29 on the FleetOwner 500: For-Hire list.
England and his late wife June had six sons, 32 grandchildren, 81 great-grandchildren, and three great-great grandchildren. His second wife Dorothy (Nielsen) England passed in 2020.
“I will miss my Granddad so much! An example, a hero, and a true optimist that showed love to everyone!” current C.R. England CEO Chad England posted on LinkedIn.
See also: C.R. England's secret to four generations of success? Faith and innovation
Until recently, England would visit the fleet’s Salt Lake City headquarters twice a week, as his grandson recounted for a 2023 FleetOwner profile.
“We all light up when we see him,” said Colin England, C.R. England’s director of accident prevention and Gene’s grandson. “He means so much to this company. And, when it comes to safety, his legacy stands tall. He drove more than 5 million safe miles. All our drivers know his name and legacy as they aspire to join the Gene England Million Miler Club.”
In 1919, while Gene was just an infant, his father Chester Rodney England began the trucking business in Plain City, Utah.
At 14, Gene got an Idaho driver’s license and began driving the family delivery truck. He hauled produce from local farms over to Wyoming and Idaho. Though this was during the Great Depression, Gene looks back on this time with joy, as he had the full support and confidence of his father.
“Dad was a man who thought I could do anything,” he told Fleet Maintenance, a FleetOwner affiliate, in 2023.
After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he bought a 1940 Kenworth flatbed truck when he got home. He and his brother Bill began to work with their father, who changed the business name to C.R. England & Sons, and they started hauling lumber to Idaho. The boys would later buy out their dad, and Gene became president and Bill vice president. Later, Gene eventually bought out Bill.
Now the fourth generation of Englands are running things. The company specializes in refrigerated transport and has more than 4,000 trucks and 6,000 trailers, generating $1.5 billion per year.
Gene officially retired from driving for the company at 90. He lost his wife June that same year.
When asked what the secret was to the company staying in the family for going on 105 years, Gene told FleetMaintenace: “We love each other. I think that’s been the glue that’s held this thing together.”
Read more about Gene England and his legacy in this obituary written by Fleet Maintenance’s John Hitch.
