Obituary: Thad Gene Lunceford

As received from the Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home:

Beloved husband and father, Thad Gene Lunceford of Pelkie, MI, passed away peacefully in his home Wednesday, June 26, 2024 surrounded by the beauty of nature that he loved. Thad lived life to the fullest, overcoming multiple obstacles and “forgetting to die” after being born with spina bifida myelomeningocele in Minneapolis and undergoing an experimental surgery in 1964. He was raised in rural eastern Iowa but headed west to new adventures in the 80s.

In southern California, Thad manufactured fuel channels and control rods for nuclear reactors, obtained sobriety that he continued for 37 years (shoutout to Lemon Grove Alano Club!), did service work for an orphanage in Mexico, put himself through college earning several degrees and becoming student government president. He organized student government for all community colleges in the state of California. He excelled in forensics and won a national competition. While his health often knocked him down, he always got back up and kept running.

In the late 1990s, while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in history at Chico State, he met his future wife, Emily, and embarked on the grandest adventure of all: family. The young couple both taught school in Modoc County, California where they had two beautiful children. Ever a protector of the downtrodden and innocent, Thad chose to teach at-risk students at High Desert Community Day School who, for him, were “never dull.” Subsequent adventures took him to upstate New York, the space coast of Florida, and finally the wilds of Michigan’s upper peninsula.

Thad loved projects, tinkering, building things. He preferred the outdoors most of the time: camping, hiking, biking, riding motorcycle. He never met a trail he didn’t like. Some of his most memorable hikes were: climbing El Cajon mountain; Bidwell Park in Chico, CA; tunneling through caves at Lava Beds National Monument; the redwoods of northern California; an end-to-end through hike on the Finger Lakes Trail (hiker #366!) where he raised money for the urology department of New York Presbyterian who’d saved his life once more in 2012; endless days spent exploring Highland Forest in upstate New York with his young children; and finally the waterfalls and lakeshores of the U.P. where he moved his family for retirement.

Thad was especially good with animals. He worked on a fish farm and helped raise emus. Dogs were drawn to him, beginning with his grandmother’s Airedale Spike and continuing with his own furry friends: Kimo, Maggie, Jovi and Tina. He also loved and protected many black cats through the years: Emerson, Poe, Polo and George.

A gentleman and a scholar, Thad was an avid reader and knowledgeable on a wide range of topics. He enjoyed solving puzzles, Socratic debate, and collecting rare books. He was the primary homeschool teacher of both his children and gave them unforgettable hands-on learning experiences. Thad possessed an inimitable spirit and a huge heart—he made life shine for all around him.

Thad is preceded in death by his mother Pamela S. Meyer and father Charles Gene Lunceford. He is survived by his wife Emily and children Mason and Madison. Services will be a private memorial at a future date on the family’s property. We will always remember: “Led Zeppelin is overrated. Boston is the greatest band of all time. And Joan Jett is hot.”

The Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.