Bayside volunteer, Eugene Myers dies at 83

A Bayside octogenarian who volunteered for at least three decades at the local ambulance corps passed away recently. Friends and fellow volunteers said that 83-year-old Eugene Myers died on Monday, October 1. He is survived by his wife Arlene, son Ronald, and two grandchildren - 21-year-old Eric and 18-year-old Lauren.
“He was a good husband, a good father, and a good friend,” his wife said. “Everybody really loved him.”
Myers, originally from Brooklyn, first moved to Woodside with his wife when they married. The couple then relocated to Bayside 52 years ago.
A retired brassiere salesperson and World War II veteran, Myers began driving the Bayside ambulance more than 30 years ago and drove a shuttle van for senior citizens at Services Now for Adult Persons (SNAP) in Queens Village, some of whom were younger than he was. He worked for SNAP for more than 17 years.
“He used to drive the elderly and take them to the center or take them for medical appointments,” his wife said.
“He didn’t just retire and say, ‘I’m done working,’ … He wanted to give back,” said Dr. Sheila Bernstein, one of Myers’ four-person ambulance crew and past President of the Bayside Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
“I worked with Gene for many years there. He was really quite a wonderful man,” Bernstein said.
Within the last few years, Myers stopped riding in the ambulance but continued to volunteer and advise members as part of the Board of Trustees.
Myers adored his grandchildren, his family and friends said, and told Bernstein that while on vacation with his wife in Florida several decades ago, his young grandson called and chatted on the phone for 20 minutes. Finally, Myers realized that the boy had simply pressed his number into the phone without his mother present. “He was thrilled that his grandson wanted to call him,” Bernstein said.
Myers’ warmth and commitment even earned him the esteem of other Bayside residents who did not volunteer with him personally.
“I had the utmost respect for [Myers],” said Ambulance Corps President Steve Kmiotek. “He was very dedicated to us.”