In Memory

Les Lund

Les Lund

Aloha Vicki,
 

I received the invitation and hand written note regarding Les's class reunion.
Regrettably, I have to let you know that Les passed away February 5, 2013, following a brief bout with cancer.

He was looking forward to attending the reunion as he had not gone to one in  many years.  In fact, he remarked about how he had better go this time because you don't know how many more reunions there would be.

Please know how much you all meant to Les and how he was looking forward to seeing  all of you again.

Aloha,

Kay Lund, wife



 
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04/08/13 10:34 AM #1    

Terry Yocks

Les has been a friend since grade school. He went to Franklin and I went to Bunsen. There was always an intense sports rivalry between our schools. I was a short left handed pitcher for our softball team and the perfect height to throw consistent strikes at the batter. Les, the star of the Franklin team, hated that I could strike him out. It was like David bringing down Goliath. He was a Gentle Giant. Was really looking forward to seeing him at the class reunion and tease him about those days. Goodbye my friend.


04/08/13 11:48 AM #2    

Randee Marshall (Rittmeyer)

 

I am so very, very sad.  Leslie (that's what he went by as a child) and I went to Franklin School together.  We were boyfriend and girlfriend as much as you can be when you are in grade school.  We remained friends through jr. high, high school and beyond.  In the 1970's his nephew and my little brother played football and wrestled together at BTHS and Les and his family and me with my parents would go to their sporting events to cheer them on.  Just three or four months ago the two of us visited via email.  He told me of his life in Hawaii and that he was working with the Special Olympic Assoc. helping young children.  He was very much looking forward to this reunion.

 

I will forever miss him.

 

Rest In Peace my sweet friend and know that I will never wear red again without thinking of you.


04/08/13 02:00 PM #3    

James Zaring

First and foremost my sympathy goes out to the Lund Family. No words can assuage the grief they are experiencing.

However, let me tell you a little about Les Lund the athlete. Les was an all around athlete and excelled in football. Les was chosen to the Rockford Register-Republic's All State team. In addition, Les made the All Conference team, the All Area team, The All District team and The All Southern Illinois team.

Les played fullback on offense and middle line backer on defense. Les was a punishing runner and a devastating tackler and produced many turn overs giving us good field position. His character and integrity were beyond reproach. As teens we did not always see things alike, but we shared the vision to make Belleville Football the best and we did with the help of our other teammates.

As you are aware, Les was Marine and I know he went out standing up and fighting all the way.

I will miss Les and I only hope that his teammates recognize his contrbutions to our school and his country by memorialize their thoughts herein.

Finally, we can't wait until tomorrow to rectify a difference between classmates, because tomorrow may be too late.

Semper Fi Les and you will never be forgotten.

 


04/08/13 02:10 PM #4    

Sally Goldenberg (Landau)

Of course, I had looked forward to catching up with Les. It's so sad to know he won't be with us in September and also serves as a reminder to us all to enjoy the present and let those we love hear our feelings before its too late. 

A fun memory about Les:  Anyone who had Mrs. McCravy for senior English will remember....and hopefully smile. I can't remember if we chose or were assigned seats, but somehow Mrs. McCravy placed her favorite senior boy in the front row, closest to the door. In my class, Les was teacher's pet. This status afforded him several opportunities we observed. (If there were others, wellllll, they were unknown to me.) Among them was a daily "opportunity" to fill the teacher's water glass. 

I can see Mrs. McCravy sitting atop the front of her desk, carefully arranging her skirt, crossing one leg slowly, almost langorously, as she looked at Les...all the while, teaching the class. Then, about half way through, she would gesture to Les and extend her arm while holding her empty glass, her eyes focused, beckoning him to please help her quench her parched mouth. 

Upon his return with the filled water glass, she thanked him and then, still cross legged, ever so slowly wrapped her ample lips around the rim of the glass, looked in Les' direction appreciatively, and partook of the "nectar."

(Was she teaching English? Or flirting?)

Day after day, class after class, Les performed this task....without expression....just doing as the teacher asked. I LOVED watching the two of them!!

Goodbye, Les, we'll miss you. 

 

 

 

 

 


04/13/13 07:28 PM #5    

Michael Hornacek

My condolences to Kay and the rest of the Lund Family and Friends! May the many fond memories of Les help everyone get through this tough time. I remember Les was very very good fullback for our undefeated Maroons in 1962, Semper Fi. God Bless and You will be missed, RIP Les!

 

 


04/18/13 06:23 PM #6    

Jenny Lund (Watson)

I am loving reading these memories of my Dad. He had such a beautiful caring way about him. We were definitely blessed to have him as our dad.

04/21/13 07:42 PM #7    

Nikki Brunsman (Lyons)

Was there anything Les couldn't do with a ball in his hand? I remember sitting in the stands of one of the Maroons basketball games with Les's dad  and hearing the pride in his voice as he spoke of his son and his accomplishments. Les and I were able to catch up over the phone about 5 years ago.  I feel I was given a gift with that phone call. My heart goes out to Kay and family and hope they find comfort in their fondest memories.


05/06/13 10:20 AM #8    

Clarence/Joel West

Les and I were casual friends in high school and didn't really bum around alot. I was at LZ Sharon in Nam on my second tour building a BAS for the air force. When out of a foxhole came no other than Les Lund. What a sight, halfway around the world and I run into Les. I believe he had a foot injury from a battle. As luck would have it my mom had just sent me a bottle of 1843 and Les and I sat around, shot the bull, drank whiskey, and to the best of my recollection had a good time. That was the last time I saw Les. God's Blessings to his family.

Joel West, Class of 63, U.S. Nasvy Seabees, 1965 - 1969


09/04/13 11:32 AM #9    

Robert McKelvey

 

I would like to say something about my friend, Les, before our memories together are gone. I know that some of the memories will live on with Joe, my 15 year old, because Les made quite an impression on Joe when we visited Kay and he on the Big Island a few years back. Joe stated on the way home,  “ I’m going to have friends like that.”  God grant him that.

Les and I shared many of life’s milestones as well as one unique challenge. We along with many of the class of ’63 endured puberty together right there at B’ville Junior High or during the long hot summer days of the late ‘50’s. About that time Les got a caring father, Cecil, and a charming step sister whose husband owned an appliance store deep in the mountains on the Va./Ky. border. I was lucky to be invited with Les to deliver appliances and enjoy mountain hospitality for parts of two summers. We learned a lot about a lot of things there and came back feeling, well, more grown up.

You can learn some awful useless stuff from your buddies growing up but Les invited me to do many good things and the best was to play basketball that summer before junior high. Now my “old man” told me that,” basketball was for girls”. Well, of course, he was unintentionally prophetic but the sport was also for me, no matter how badly I played it. And play I did for over 50 years after Les first put that rock in my hands.

Also in those formative years we were fortunate to be part of two undefeated teams both of which were the culmination of spectacular turnarounds from previous years. Those successes instilled in us an optimism that what we put our hearts into we would do well and even when we didn’t we would be ready to go again after licking our wounds.

It has been a wonderful benefit to have a lifelong friend like Les. No time or distance could cause any discomfort continuing our relationship. There was never any judgments and no pretense. There was just Les, but amazingly he seemed to be in my life more when I needed a friend the most. After my divorce Les and Kay invited me to a wedding in Chicago, took me to see Tony Benet in Columbus and talked me into going to Disneyworld. Les also came North to fish and canoe bringing his son, Ken, and his bro, Rip, on several occasions. Underlying the rekindling and affirmation of our friendship was a state of grace we arrived at unbeknownst to each other.

Our sobriety was the great thing we shared from our 40’s on, as well as, during our senior football season. I never thought of Les as having had a problem and I still don’t. He never isolated. He cared about people much more than booze. And he didn’t need any booze to show emotion or courage.  I was absent when Les was recovering from Viet Nam but I know it had upset his equilibrium and it is a great credit to the man and his wonderful partner, Kay, that he came through it a better person.

At our 20th reunion Les asked if he could go with me to the Belleville chapter of a spiritual meeting that I was attending to help me cope with life. Pleasantly surprised I figured that Les was just being supportive. They opened the meeting with the normal prayer, then they turned off the lights and on the TV came that night’s speaker, a former priest who used many of my spiritual group’s tenets in his FOR PROFIT self-help program. Further while this priest was giving confession to a man who was to be my sponsor in my spiritual program he was falling in love with that man’s wife. After my friend and guru warned the priest to stay away from his wife, he was asked for a divorce.

I didn’t listen to a word the ex-priest had to say. I was too wrapped up in my resentment of the fellow, a guy I really hadn’t even met yet. And that I had to endure his BS in a place where I expected to find some serenity with fellow seekers including Les. Well when they turned on the lights. I immediately noticed that Les was in the midst of a serious emotional release. Les got up and walked out and I followed him. He soon was OK but uncharacteristically quiet. Not wanting to spoil whatever Les was experiencing, I never told him about my now seemingly small resentments. I was left contemplating how the Higher Power in His wondrous way had brought to that meeting my sponsor/guru, the ex-priest, the sanctity of marriage, and His forgiving grace for Les’ and my benefit. Of course, Les’ humble response brought it all together. Years later I came to understand that Les’ friendship was spiritual long before I thought spiritual was cool.

When Kay told me of Les’ passing I was dumbstruck. I had to talk to somebody and not even knowing if he was still with us I googled and called coach Frala. Perhaps I had wanted to tell Les how grateful I was to have him in my life so I took the liberty of telling coach how grateful both Les and I were to have him in our lives during those wonderful years.

Les showed us around the Big Island like he showed me around the south side of E. Main St. almost 60 years before, telling stories and talking to the natives. When we stopped at some beach to play he sat and watched over us and loved it when a young Islander would call him “Uncle”.

 

 


05/25/14 05:52 AM #10    

Michael Hornacek

Thanks for serving, I salute and RIP Les! Semper Fi!


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