MARQUAND, Mo. -- Thomas Eugene Masterson, 50, of Marquand died Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, at Mercy South Hospital in Saint Louis.

He was born May 8, 1973, in Cape Girardeau to Warren and Alberta Cooper Masterson. He and Mary Richards were married Sept. 5, 2010, at Clinton, Montana.

Known to many as Tom, Gene or Mountain Man, he had a heart of gold! He was always willing to help anyone who needed him. He was well loved by so many, especially his close-knit family.

Growing up, Gene was a great kid who participated in sports and wrestling, with swimming being his favorite. He grew up with his parents guiding him in the path of the Boy Scouts, eventually becoming an Eagle Scout. This sparked a fire in him for the love of camping and the outdoors. His parents lovingly allowed him to follow his dreams, which turned into a lifetime passion!

As a young man he decided to go live the life of a mountain man. Living out West, he gleaned from the knowledge he learned growing up to live the rugged life of Montana for 17 years. Many of those years, he worked as a hunting guide in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Anaconda Pintler Wilderness. He was a man of distinction. Everywhere you saw him, he was in full leathers, black hat and his full beard like a mountain man. Tom had a pack string, mules and horses of his own, that he used in the guide service and was very proud to have had the privilege of this kind of work. For him, that was livin'!

After high school, Gene went to Southeast Missouri State University and realized that was not for him. So, he went to a farrier school in Sperry, Oklahoma, graduating in 2011 with a degree in blacksmith farrier science. Tom was a farrier up until his last week on this earth. He loved horses!

He was a corrections officer at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge. He worked on the barges of the Mississippi River for years, managed a 22,000-acre cattle ranch with 1,600 head for a couple years, was a rural carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, worked for Madison County (Missouri) Road and Bridge and, lastly, Missouri State Conservation Department, which he loved!

Tom was a lifetime member of the American Mountain Men Association, a Mason, a baptized man of God and the jokester of the party. He hated large crowds, but loved his peace, his farm, family and animals.

He and Mary moved back to Missouri, creating a farm in 2013. They worked together on everything, working out their ideas and dreams into reality. They made a homestead to be proud of!

He will be greatly missed by all who loved him and those that knew him well.

Survivors include his wife; parents; two sisters, Sherri (Cliff) Head of Lowell, Arkansas, and Shelly (Nils) Eyberg of St. Louis; four nephews, Levi Head, LeShaun Gochett, Jordan Gochett and Joseph Eyberg; and a niece, Maggie Eyberg.

He was preceded in death by a niece, Amy Head.

A celebration of life will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. A meal will follow at the VFW Hall in Chaffee, Missouri.

Memorial contributions may be given to American Farriers Association, 2201 Regency Road, Ste. 704, Lexington, KY 40503.

Online condolences may be sent at www.fordandsonsfuneralhome.com.