LUTHER E. EUGENE LUTHER (Age 88) A resident of Ashby Ponds in Ashburn, Virginia died on Wednesday, January 16, 2013. The beloved husband of Eleanor G. Luther, now deceased; father of Tara L. Schmohl of Broomfield, CO, Tanya L. Kukral of Highlands Ranch, CO and Lura L. Teeter of Charlotte, NC; step-father of Michael Patrick of Burke, VA; sister of Helen W. Rowlett of Kansas City, MO and Dorothy E. Stiens of Maryville, MO; grandfather of Parker J. Kukral, Rhett C. Teeter and Keanen G. Teeter. Mr. Luther was born in 1924 in a farmhouse near Oregon, in Holt County, MO. He resided in Holt County until July 1941 when, after finishing high school in Maitland, MO, he went to St. Joseph, MO where he attended Platt-Gard Business College and worked for H.O. Sidenfaden Funeral Home, Pennant Cafeteria and Standard Oil Company of Indiana. On June 6, 1942 he enlisted as a Naval Aviation Cadet in Kansas City, MO. In September 1943 he graduated from flight school at Pensacola, FL, and was designated Naval Aviator and commissioned as a 2nd Lt. U.S. Marine Corps. During WWII he served as a fighter pilot (F4U-Corsair) at NAS Opa Locka, FL; El Toro, CA; El Centro, CA; overseas MCAS Ewa Hawaii, Guam, Roi-Namur (Kwajlein Atoll), Okinawa and Midway Is. He was awarded several decorations including six Air Medals and one Distinguished Flying Cross. After WWII he remained in the organized Reserve and flew Corsairs at NAS Olathe, KS and NAS Anacostia, DC. Between WWII and the Korean War he attended Cen- tral Methodist College, Fayette, MO and George Washington University, Washington DC where he received AA, BA and J.D. degrees (1948, 1949 and 1951 respectively). In 1948, he married his first wife, Kathlene Elizabeth Lewis, the mother of his three daughters. He was admitted to the Virginia State Bar September 1951. In August 1951 he was recalled to active duty USMC as fighter pilot, staff legal officer, Military Justice Officer and Trial Counsel. In 1975 he retired from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve as a Lt. Col. In August 1954 upon being released from active duty he began the practice of law in Arlington, VA, where he also served as a Commissioner in the Violations Bureau, Asst. Commonwealth Attorney (1956-1961) and was appointed a Substitute Judge of the County Court in 1964. In 1988 he was appointed a Commissioner in Chancery and Substitute Judge in Fairfax County, Va. In 1984 he was appointed Chairman of a Committee of the Virginia State Bar to investigate and report the extent of substance abuse in the legal profession in Virginia. This Committee, now known as Lawyers Helping Lawyers, diligently pursued the directive during the ensuing years and continues to serve the legal profession in the areas of substance abuse and mental health. He was raised a Master Mason in Maitland Lodge AF & AM #112 on August 13, 1946 (now Oregon Lodge AF & AM #139, Forest City, MO). He affiliated with Fort-Hunt Daytime Lodge #353, Springfield, VA. He became a 32nd degree Mason with the Scottish Rite on April 16, 1953 and a Shriner with the Sudan Temple A.A.O.N.M.S. in New Bern, NC also in 1953. Upon being released from active duty in the USMC in 1954, he returned to Arlington County, VA and remained active in the organized USMCR, affiliated with the Alexandria Scottish Rite of Free Masonry, S.J., USA, on August 10, 1956 and in the same year he affiliated with Kena Shriners A.A.O.N.M.S. in Fairfax, VA. He was also a member of Arlington Commandary #029, Knights Templar, Arlington, Va. and the Royal Arch Masons in Virginia, Arlington #35. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 22 at 1 p.m. at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home, 9902 Braddock Road, Fairfax, Virginia. Services and Interment will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Lawyers Helping Lawyers, 600 East Main St. Suite 2035, Richmond VA. 23219.Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 22 at 1 p.m. at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home, 9902 Braddock Road, Fairfax, Virginia. Services and Interment will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Lawyers Helping Lawyers, 600 East Main St. Suite 2035, Richmond VA. 23219.

Published in The Washington Post on January 20, 2013