Gene Lourey of Kerrick, Minn., who, with his wife raised 12 children, died early Sunday at home. He was 67.

Eight of the children he raised with his wife, former state Sen. Becky Lourey, DFL-Kerrick, were adopted.

Three of the couple's children preceded him in death.

The Loureys' son Matt, an Army helicopter pilot, was killed in Iraq in 2005 when his craft crashed.

In 1973, their first adopted child, Jay, 5, didn't survive heart surgery. Fernando, adopted from Guatemala as a toddler, died at 25 in a diving accident.

Gene Lourey graduated from Aurora-Hoyt Lakes High School in 1959 and earned a bachelor's degree in math and economics from the University of Minnesota.

He once served as a code breaker for the National Security Agency. He was a computer software professional and a former farmer. He founded Nemadji Research Corp., a data management firm that serves hospitals.

Becky Lourey helps run the firm, and they had started a small-business incubator firm.

In addition to his wife of 46 years, he is survived by his sons Tim of Kerrick, Tony of Kerrick, Ben of Benicia, Calif., and Nick of Askov; daughters Leah Gerard of Sturgeon Lake; Kristin Verville of Eau Claire, Wis., Kim Bohnsack of Sturgeon Lake, Heidi of Kerrick and Maria Lourey-Bowen of Kerrick; his mother, Helene of Moose Lake; a sister, Terry Berg of Bovey; a brother, Bruce of Moose Lake, and 18 grandchildren.

Services will be private. Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Nemadji Research Corp., 100 Birch St., Bruno, Minn.

BEN COHEN