Gene Dickirson was born in Vincennes, Indiana and grew up in Lawrenceville, Illinois, Las Vegas, Nevada and Corona, California. He graduated from Vincennes University with an Associates degree in Drafting Technology in 1963. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Lawrence Technological University in Mechanical Engineering. He began his 36-year carrier with Ford Motor Company as a draftsman and retired in 1998 as a manager in the product engineering office. He has been awarded four U.S. design patents and has several technical papers published. He is a Registered Professes ional Engineer in the State of Michigan.