Gerald "Gerry" Lunn

Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend Gerald "Gus" E. Lunn, 85, died Feb. 3, 2008, surrounded by his family. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck. Interment will be held Friday at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Gerald Edward Lunn, the son of Fred and Selma Rein Lunn was born Dec. 7, 1922, in Providence, R.I. His family moved to the Midwest during his childhood, where Fred Lunn started Johnson and Lunn Construction with a partner. After graduating from Bismarck High School in 1941, he enlisted in the Army in December 1942. He was chosen to go to the University of Iowa for a training program in engineering. Gerald was sent to the European Theatre as a radio operator during World War II. His company was in Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge. He also served in Germany, Austria and France. Gerald was awarded the Bronze Star for combat service in France. He was honorably discharged from the Army in December 1945, and he returned to Bismarck to work in the family construction business. Gerald and his brothers were all bricklayers and eventually they took over the business that would become Lunn Construction. Lunn Construction built a multitude of churches, schools and commercial buildings which he would proudly point out on a Sunday drive throughout North and South Dakota until 1991, when it was disbanded. Gerald was united in marriage with Frances Gillen on Oct. 17, 1953. Anyone who knew Gerald knew that he was a respected businessman in the community and more importantly, a devoted husband, father, grandfather and son. He would delight us with his singing mostly off-key and when he and his brothers would get together, their laughter shook the house. Gerald most enjoyed times at the lake. He shared a cabin with his brothers and their families in Minnesota and Lake Isabel in North Dakota, and also spent vacations at RJ and Jayne's cabin in South Dakota. The best times in our family were spent at the lake and he was never happier than when he could work on one of the million projects that seemed endless at our cabin. In spite of that, he was never too busy to take kids water-skiing or sailing. Gerald was also an avid photographer, skeet/trap shooter and sailor. He was a lifelong member of the VFW and Elks. He and Frankie raised four kids together. In 2004, Gerald and Frankie moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., to be closer to their children and grandchildren. He was a wonderful man who had a fantastic sense of humor and an amazing spirit. He will be deeply missed forever. Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Frankie Lunn, Sioux Falls; two sons, Robert Jayne Lunn and their daughter, Sophia, Sioux Falls, and Michael Sue Lunn and their son, Brendan, Nashville, Tenn.; one daughter, Kari Lunn and her husband, Mike Gerszewski, and their children, Noah and Jacob, Sioux Falls; one brother, Fred Joan Lunn; one sister-in-law, Joann Lunn; and a host of relatives and friends. Gerald was preceded in death by his son, Gary; his parents, Fred and Selma; and two brothers, Wayne and Kenny. Memorials may be directed to the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church or Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center.

Gerald "Gerry" Lunn

December 7, 1922 - February 3, 2008