Luther Studdard
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Let me tell you about my dad. Luther Lamar (Luke) Studdard was born to the late W.H. and Ezma Bright Studdard on January 21, 1940, in Spring Garden, Alabama. He was one of eight children. He attended Spring Garden School. There were days that they would skip school to pick cotton to help meet the needs at home. The family attended the Exie Congregational Holiness Church.
In the late 50's, the family moved to Rome where the kids would attend Pepperell School. On a Sunday night in 1960, he met a beautiful blue-eyed blonde, Kay Chambers, at the Dari-Delite. No one was supposed to know because she had skipped church and went there with a friend. At the time, she was seeing someone else. Dad really liked her but did not give it a thought. Soon, mom quit seeing the other guy and took an interest in dad. On January 28, 1961, they eloped to Buchannan and got married. When her mother found out, she made them get married again-this time by their pastor, Rev. Paul Stover at North Rome Church of God. They would later have two children, Cary and Deborah Studdard.
Life was tough but dad always found a way to make ends meet. Dad worked at Pepperell before landing a lifelong job at GE where he later retired. He also was the Master Installer for Sears for many years. When Alan Murphy opened his appliance store, dad became an installer for him until he retired again in 2021. After retiring from GE, they bought a motor home and would travel the continental US and Canada several times. In the later years, their favorite past time was Maggie Valley and cruising.
Dad loved sports. Whether it was softball, golf, horseshoes, shuffleboard or holey board, he enjoyed beating the socks off of them - winning whatever prize they offered. Gordon Haney got dad involved in the Senior Olympic games. They would play single and doubles shuffleboard as well as horseshoes-placing in both sports which allowed them to compete in the National Senior Olympic Games also placing in both categories.
Dad loved his family. He loved his siblings -their family reunions and holiday get togethers. They were a close family. They knew how to enjoy each other and loved to laugh especially when they were picking at each other. But even more, he loved his immediate family. Dad and Mom were married 60 years. There was never a day go by that he did not talk to his children. He stayed close by to attend to his ailing wife. In the last 16 months, he lost his daughter to Covid. 5 weeks later, he lost the love of his life- his wife- to multiple strokes. All of this loss took a devastating toll on him. Yet he tried to stay strong. After a 106 day stay in the hospital, he succumbed to the post effects of Covid on Monday, May 16, 2022.
To know Luke was to like Luke. He never met a stranger. He enjoyed life. He valued life and he made preparations for the next life. I had the honor of baptizing my dad in the name of the Lord Jesus last year. I will miss him tremendously. He was a gentle giant.
We will celebrate his life on Saturday, May 21, 2022, at 2pm in the Chapel at Henderson & Sons Funeral Home, South Chapel. We will greet friends from 1pm until the service time on Saturday. Interment will follow in Oaknoll Memorial Gardens.
Henderson & Sons Funeral Home, South Chapel, has charge of the arrangements.