Eugene was 80 years old and preceded in death by his wife Eunice Engen (d. 2010), to whom he was married for 53 years, and his sister Caroline Oberhelman (d. 1996). He is survived by his sister Alice Lawrence, 89 of Milton, IN, his son Paul Engen, 53 of Mitchell, SD, and his son Brendan Engen, 40 of Way Cross, GA and several nieces and nephews.

Eugene was born and raised in Yankton, South Dakota and attended Yankton College for his Bachelor's degree in psychology, Mills College in Oakland, CA for his Master's degree in psychology, and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA for his Doctor of Philosophy degree in psychology. As a young man, he served in the United States Air Force as well as the Public Health Service as a commissioned officer and lived in Louisiana, Texas and Kentucky. He married Eunice in 1957 in Baton Rouge, LA, where they started a family. He and the family moved back to Yankton, SD in the late fifties to be closer to his father and sister, and at that time he took on a position as clinical psychologist at the Yankton State Hospital in Yankton, SD.

Eugene directed the Adolescent Program at the Yankton State Hospital in the mid-sixties. In the early seventies Eugene became a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, a prestigious distinction in recognition of his achievements even as a then-young clinical psychologist. Also during this period he and a group of physicians and other concerned citizens started a mental health center in Yankton, SD, the Lewis & Clark Mental Health Center (now known as Lewis & Clark Behavioral Health Center). He served as its executive director for approximately 20 years. He worked vigorously and productively with local and State government leaders to create an effective and accessible outpatient community mental health care system serving several counties in southeastern South Dakota. In 1993, at the age of 62, he and Eunice moved to Waycross, GA to become part of a private group practice of psychologists and other mental health providers. He ultimately started his own private psychological practice in Waycross in 1999 (now known as Psychological Services of Waycross), where he worked until 2009. While in the Waycross practice, he established satellite offices in four counties in southeastern Georgia. In 2009 Eugene retired, turned the business over to his son Brendan and moved back to South Dakota after he and Eunice had discovered their dream house in Mitchell, SD while on a trip to see their son Paul.

In his work and in his relationships, Eugene was known for his level-headedness and objectivity, his integrity, his kindness and encouragement, and his patient and empathic listening ability. Though he started from humble beginnings and tended to be extremely modest and quick to defer attention away from his own achievements, he ended up having established significant mental health programs and practices that continue and thrive to this day in South Dakota and Georgia. Quietly but industriously, Dr. Engen earned distinction as a pioneer in mental health services in South Dakota in the latter half of the 20th century.

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