(Sunday, June 7, 2026)
I attended my neighbor Vicky’s memorial in the early afternoon on June 6. Vicky had died of a mysterious pneumonia. My father died last night, on June 6. His cause of death was the decline of his lungs, aggravated by severe COPD.
I drove up to Cambridge Hospital on Friday, as soon as I heard about my father’s fall and his broken femur. I don’t always rush up to visit my parents when they are hospitalized, but I had an instinct that this could be the last time I would see him alive. Which it was.
Yesterday morning I biked with Cullan to watch Wyn’s first soccer practice. As I was sitting on the grass at Diamond Lake Pearl Park, I heard one of the coaches ask his team mates to share their names. One boy said “Edwin,” a name I had not heard in years. My grandfather’s name is Edwin Luther, and my father’s name is James Edwin Luther. I wondered about that synchronicity, if something serious would soon happen with my dad.
The orthopedic at Mercy Hospital decided not to do surgery on a 92-year-old patient, so a social worker found a rehab center where the plan was for my father to do weeks of physical therapy. Dad was going to move to rehab on Monday. He remained relatively alert, reacting positively to the pain meds, but on Saturday evening everything started to fall apart. He threw up, and the nurses used a tube to clear his throat. They did an x-ray to assure that his lungs were clear. They were. But his stomach began to bloat dramatically. Fluid probably pored into his lungs. He died very quickly, a few minutes before I arrived back at the hospital.
When I entered room 5630, everyone was sobbing, except me and our mother. My father’s blue eyes were wide open. His mouth too. After everyone left, I kissed his forehead and gave him a prayer.
Dad on the his childhood farm in Brewster, Minnesota
I wrote his obituary:
James E. “Bud” Luther, 92, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on Saturday evening, June 6, 2026, at Mercy Hospital.
Bud was born on September 4, 1933, to parents Edwin and Helen Luther in Brewster, Minnesota. He was the second of seven children, preceded in death by sisters Carol, Lois and Mary. John, Alan and Alice are his surviving siblings.
On October 20, 1956, Bud married Doreen Sheehan at St. Mary’s Church in Minnieska, Minnesota. Left to honor his life and mourn his death are his wife Doreen and their four children: Denise, Jodell, Jamie and Kurt. He will be dearly missed by 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Camping, fishing and gardening were Bud’s life-long pleasures. For many years his family owned a beautiful log cabin, built in 1919, along the Wahkon Bay of Lake Mille Lacs. He loved to read science-fiction books and watch movies about the Wild West. As an Army veteran he also enjoyed playing WWII videos on his computer.
Bud’s final employment was as a machinist at Remmele Engineering, a job that called him on trips all over the world, including Puerto Rico, Mexico City and Saudi Arabia. After 28 years, he retired and began traveling with his spouse on People’s First Bank tour group. His favorite event was a European River Cruise.
