Loretta W. (Thueme) Lukasak's Obituary
All my life has been filled with blessings. I was born on September 22, 1925, 95 years ago. My loving parents, Clara and Charles Thueme, had a small dairy farm on Lindsey Road. I lived on the farm with my younger siblings, Clarence and Ilean, until I started high school in St. Clair. My parents recognized the value for their daughter to have an education. Because there were no school buses that drove country kids to high school, I moved into town and lived with Dick, Ethel, and Marlene Gramzow. After high school I worked for Frank D. Beadle’s Insurance Company where I was introduced to my future husband, Peter Lukasak. The day after I met Pete, he surprised me by showing up at my house with a music box. Little did he know it was my birthday and though the house was filled with my girlfriends, he stayed for the whole party! I knew then he was a keeper!
Pete and I were married on January 10, 1948. Since Pete was sailing on the Great Lakes and had the responsibility of tending one of the Reiss Line ships during the winter months, our honeymoon was spent onboard. Not everyone can say they had a three-month honeymoon!
Together we built our own home on St. Clair Highway and were blessed with three children, Roger, Linda (Leist), and Audrey. I was doubly blessed when our family grew as we adopted Pat and Fred when the Lutheran Orphanage in Toledo closed. My children gifted me the title of grandma (12), great-grandma (18), and great-great grandma (1). I was blessed to have been able to stay at home, raise my family, volunteer in numerous places, and work part-time at Silk’s Flower Shop for over 25 years. I was humbled when St. Clair selected me to be Mother-of-Year.
Faith was central to our home. I enjoyed growing in faith through my involvement in Bible studies at St. Peters Lutheran Church, ecumenical groups, and Lutheran churchwide women’s groups. For over 25 years, I taught a Sunday School class for children and teens who were differently abled. I found great joy in my later years as I brought holy communion, along with my husband Pete’s roses, to the homebound.
On July 1, God peacefully took my hand and guided me to the room Jesus prepared for me. I was welcomed in the loving embrace of Jesus’ arms, as well as the love of my parents, husband, daughter Linda, sister and brother and their spouses, and a whole host of other saints who have gone before me.
In recognition of the challenges of the pandemic, my family is safely gathering outdoors to say “thanks be to God” for the many ways God blessed not only my life but all our lives. A graveside service will be held at 10:00 am on Friday, July 9 at the Hillside Cemetery, 1450 Goffe Street in St. Clair. A celebration of life may be held later around my 96th birthday in September at St. Peters Lutheran Church pending the pandemic (updates will be posted on the Young Funeral Home site www.youngcolonial.com).
Whether or not you are able to join us, my family invites you to eat shrimp cocktail (my favorite food) followed by blueberry cheesecake (a family tradition I began). If you choose to gift a memorial, please find a place/organization that blesses people with God’s love or give flowers to someone who may need to be reminded they are loved by God. Thank you for blessing my life with your love and friendship. It was a gift to me from God.
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