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Leroy Thomas ‘Lee’ Lunn
was born in Spring Valley, IL to Thomas and Marcella (Chiarella)
Lunn on November 13, 1932.
He
attended Hall High School (Class of 1950) and was selected to the
All-State football team. His accomplishments were recognized in 2012
when he was selected to the Red Devil Sports Hall of Fame as an
individual athlete. His 1946 football team was then inducted in
2013.
Lee’s football career moved forward at West Point, where he started
three years on the varsity football team. He was elected captain of
the Army team of 1953, which was coached by Earl “Red” Blaik and
Vince Lombardi. During his senior year, West Point beat Navy for the
first time in four years. The Army team of ’53 also won the Lambert
Trophy, which annually recognizes college football supremacy in the
Northeast.
Lee’s brother, Robert (Bob), also attended West Point (Class of
1950) and played football for Army. Both Lunn brothers wore number
60.
Lee’s high academic standing at West Point allowed him to select in
which branch of the military he would serve. Upon graduation, he was
commissioned in the U.S. Air Force and married Barbara Bird, his
high school sweetheart. After completion of pilot training at
Stallings Air Base, NC, where he won the Outstanding Student Officer
Academic Award in the Class of 1955, he became an instructor pilot
at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, OK. In 1958, he resigned his
commission and returned to the Illinois Valley, where he was
employed as an engineer by Conco, Inc., in Mendota, IL, and later in
Louisville, KY. Lee was responsible for the design and prototype
work of a military container used for M1 tank ammunition. The
container was later modified for artillery powder bags. He retired
from Conco as Vice President of Engineering in 1991.
Lee was active in his hometown community, serving 10 years on the
Ladd Community School Board of Education. He was also a member of
St. Benedict Church in Ladd and its Holy Name Society, the Ladd
Moose Lodge, and the Army Athletic Association. Additionally, he
served on the Ladd Planning Committee.
Above all, he enjoyed spending time with his children and
grandchildren. His favorite activities included fishing, hunting,
woodworking, and cheering for the Green Bay Packers. In the 1954
Howitzer, Lee’s classmates wrote, “Filled with the ready desire
to be of help to others, always quick with a keen wit and happy
smile, old Brutus quickly earned the reputation of being a terrific
all around guy.” These characteristics were apparent in all that he
did, from helping his family and neighbors with any home improvement
project, to building dollhouses and playhouses for his
grandchildren.
Lee’s daughter Lisa wrote the following poem about her father to
describe the great man that he was:
He
dreamed of knights fighting dragons, searching for the Holy Grail,
protecting fair maidens serving both King and Country.
They were Heroes.
He
dreamed of brave soldiers risking their lives to defeat the enemy.
They were Heroes.
He
grew into a young man. A mischievous and determined youth, he was
bound to be the best he could be. He chose his own battlefield—the
football field. He did not receive the glory. He was the driving
force behind the game. He played the line—he was Brutus.
He
chose yet another battlefield—to serve and defend his country in the
military. He learned to fly and then taught other men. Many of which
gave ultimate sacrifice—their life for their country. To him they
were heroes.
There were no other battlefields to be found for the young man. He
felt his dream of being a hero was a childhood fantasy as long days
at the office and diapers and crying children replaced them.
The man grew older and his children did too. He played the role of
Daddy—he was the Mr. Fix It. For you see he could do everything. He
knew how to fly a kite, fix a dolly, make the tallest towers, remove
the endless slivers from tiny feet, and most of all he could make
the biggest catastrophe seem like a tiny ant hill for he always
listened with his heart and gave the best advice.
He
does not know it but he is the best hero of all, he is my Dad.
—
Lisa Grivetti (Lunn)
Lee is survived by his wife, Barbara of Ladd; by his only son, Peter
(Mary) of Sterling, VA; by two daughters, Barbara (Jerry) Stank of
Spring Valley, IL, and Lisa Grivetti of Peru, IL; by seven
grandchildren: Matt Stank, Meghan Lutes, Liz and Tommy Lunn, and
Emily, Alexis and Jessica Grivetti; and by four great-grandchildren:
Noah Stank, Carson Leroy Lutes, and Ethan and Aiden Swanland.
He
was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Linda Geimer; and
his brother, Robert ’50.
Each of us who knew Lee has had our lives enriched because of that
relationship. You will never become just a faded memory with us, and
as we look into the heavens on a starry evening we know you are
there.
—
Prepared by Peter J. Lunn ’
79, Son |
