Page 6 - GJ Book JUNE FLIP

6
LOVE, GENE
HIS STORY - IN HIS WORDS
I was raised in a small rural community in eastern Washington, youngest of six. My parents were migrant workers and getting an education was important especially to my mother who was the glue of our family. We were proud to be Juarez’s.
We were respected in the community. Our clothes were always clean and pressed, and we had a strong work ethic. We were a family that wowed with love, good etiquette and discipline. Unfortunately, in that community there was a lot of prejudice and this made me want to escape. It also made me imagine.
”I knew hair was my destiny”
My mother died of cancer when I was 16 and I knew my father couldn’t take care of me. My father wanted me to have an “inside job” (versus work the fields like him). I always had a love of art and eventually was introduced to a hair dresser. He inspired me to apply for a scholarship at a beauty school which I was accepted to and attended after my high school graduation. At the young age of 16, I set a goal to come to Seattle and become “Mr. Hair.”
I knew hair was my destiny.
I went to school during the day and was the manager of the A&W at night. Mr. Lee, who owned the school, asked me if I wanted to go to Seattle to work at one of his salons. He had one salon and a bunch of schools, so I became a stylist who also taught at all the schools. I worked for him for over a year and opened his 2nd salon.