Out of the Dust

Out of the DustH. E. "Gene" Rainbolt never really left Norman. The longtime Oklahoma banking and business leader and philanthropist hasn't lived here since the early 1950s but his early upbringing on south Pickard Avenue shaped many of his life's pursuits. Born just months before the stock market crash of 1929, Rainbolt grew up without the love or nurturing of a father. He learned the work ethic at an early age and was an entrepreneur before he could spell the word.

H.E. "Gene" Rainbolt never really left Norman. The longtime Oklahoma banking and business leader and philanthropist hasn't lived here since the early 1950s but his early upbringing on south Pickard Avenue shaped many of his life's pursuits.

Born just months before the stock market crash of 1929, Rainbolt grew up without the love or nurturing of a father. He learned the work ethic at an early age and was an entrepreneur before he could spell the word. He mowed yards, stripped paint off walls, worked as a soda jerk and even sold hamburgers to hungry fraternity pledges as they emerged from study hall. He seemed to find opportunity, even in the middle of the Depression.

Rainbolt's story, detailing his personal and business life, has hit the bookstores with the publication of "Out of the Dust — Gene Rainbolt A Life for Oklahoma," by journalist Tom Lindley.