Funeral arrangements have been announced for Gene Siller, the 46-year-old golf pro shot and killed last weekend at Pinetree Country Club near Kennesaw.
The husband and father of two young boys was killed on the 10th hole after a white pickup truck drove onto the course and got stuck near the green, according to Cobb County police. Siller, who worked as Pinetree’s director of golf, was fatally shot when he went to investigate.
His family will receive friends Sunday afternoon at McDonald and Son Funeral Home in Cumming, according to Siller’s obituary. Visitation is set for 3 to 5 p.m., and from 6 to 8 p.m. The funeral service for Siller will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Dunwoody United Methodist Church, followed by a private burial.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Siller attended Purdue University, where he graduated with a mechanical engineering degree. As an engineer, he helped develop several U.S. patents before his passion for golf eventually led to him to qualify as a PGA professional, his family said.
“A natural teacher and mentor, Gene held leadership positions at several of the most esteemed golf clubs around metro Atlanta,” according to his obituary. “He had an endless pursuit to be the best version of himself and an incredible work ethic, which he used to encourage and mentor aspiring golfers.”
Siller lived in Cumming with his wife, Ashley, and their two sons, 7-year-old Beau and 5-year-old Banks. His children also loved golf, and played a round of 18 with their father every Sunday.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
“The loves of his life were his wife and his boys. Gene loved the three of them more than anything in this world and anybody who knew him would tell you the same,” his obituary said. “His love for his family, and the love between Gene and Ashley, was palpable. You never saw a prouder man than when you saw Gene looking at his two boys.”
When he wasn’t golfing, Siller could be found entertaining people by the grill or in the pro shop. He loved the outdoors, and spent much of his free time working in the yard, improving his home and building playsets for his sons, according to his loved ones.
His obituary described him as kind, genuine and “a friend to all.”
“He was strong, centered, and ethically grounded, never wavering from doing what he believed was the right thing to do,” Siller’s family wrote. “Gene made the people around him better just by knowing and loving him.”
Last weekend’s triple homicide shocked the tight-knit community, leaving Cobb residents on edge for days as detectives searched for a suspect. The bodies of two other men were found in the back of the pickup truck on the golf course, and a suspect was arrested Thursday.
In lieu of flowers, Siller’s family asks that donations be made to the Gene Siller Memorial Grant, which was set up by the Georgia PGA Foundation to honor Siller’s life and his passion for junior golf. The grant will provide financial assistance to competitive young golfers in need throughout the state.
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