Frank Lutter

MADISON-Frank William Lutter, age 99, passed away on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, in Madison. He was born on April 17, 1917, in Manhattan, New York City, to William and Caroline Lutter. Frank grew up in Czech neighborhoods, one of them adjacent to Central Park, with all his relatives nearby. His parents were Catholic, all the extended family played cut-throat pinochle and the old men flew homing pigeons from the apartment roofs, back when there were horse-drawn ice trucks on the streets. Unable to afford CCNY where he had won a scholarship, Frank traveled to California leaving a union job in a brewery to attend University California Berkeley starting in 1939. He got to ride the rails and worked at a friend's family lumber camp. Frank served four years in the U.S. Navy during World War II as an electrician and served as an instructor in Mississippi near the end of the war. Following completion of an engineering degree, he worked as a mining engineer with the Hardinge Company in York, Pa. (where he met his future wife) and in San Francisco, Calif. Frank married Wilburta Elizabeth Fink on March 29, 1952, in East Orange, N.J. He worked as a patent examiner with the Patent Office in Washington DC from 1955 until he retired in 1986. There, Frank coordinated the Patent Academy for training and later helped in the drafting of patent appeal responses for one of the directors. Family friends say he turned down consideration for a presidential appointment as he could not manage the social obligations. Frank was devoted to taking care of his wife during a long illness and especially following a stroke in Bowie Md., in 2008, and then following relocation at Oak Park Place in Madison, from the summer of 2009 until she passed in 2011. As a first son, Frank took care of his family, including his brother, a welder during the Bethlehem Steel strikes in the 1950s and 60s. He was always charming and cheerful, and worked through adversity. Frank is survived by his son, William J. (Susan J.) Lutter; and grandson, James W. Lutter. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Wilburta E. Lutter; and his brother, Walter Lutter. A family visitation will be held at OAK PARK PLACE, Grandview Hall, 718 Jupiter Dr., Madison, from 1:30 p.m. until 4 p.m., with a memorial service at 2:45 p.m., on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, with Pastor Katie Van Der Linden of Glenwood Moravian Church officiating. A military burial at Milwaukee Union Cemetery will follow at a later date. The family would like to thank everyone at Oak Park Place, especially 2nd floor assisted living aides and the physical therapy staff. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Dr. (608) 221-5240