Mackey Eugene Lunsford

Mackey Eugene (Gene) Lunsford, 83, passed away Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at his home in Sugar Land Texas. Gene was born February 1, 1936 to Ernest and Artie Lunsford in the mountains outside of Del Rio, Tennessee. He was one of four boys.

In order to support his widowed mother and younger brother, Gene joined the U.S. Army at age 17 during the Korean War. Deemed too young for combat, he was literally pulled off the troopship’s gangplank bound for Korea and instead sent to Alaska. His 20-year army career saw him posted to such exotic locations as Indiana, Texas, Louisiana, Germany and finally Vietnam where he proved he was not too young to fight. More importantly, that’s where he met his future wife of 48 years, Le. Offered the rank of Sergeant Major, Gene chose instead to retire as a First Sergeant when he was told he couldn’t bring his new bride to his planned posting in Germany.

After retiring from the army, Gene held a number of positions, including head of security for an oil company in Singapore, import store owner in Oregon, manager of a convenience store chain and of a U-Haul and self-storage business.

Gene was proud of his service, but the job he was most proud of was his role as husband, father, and grandfather. He loved his family and took great pride in their accomplishments and the time he got to spend with them.

He loved the country, camping, fishing and country music. He could talk for hours about growing up the son of a sharecropper in the Tennessee mountains.

Gene always had a cup of coffee in his hand and his sweet tooth was legendary. He never met a pie, cookie, cake or pastry he could not devour.

Gene is survived by his wife, Le, and daughter Gale (Kese); children from his first marriage – Kelly (Kathy), Jimmy, Lise, Lorri (Mike) and Roger (Christy); and numerous grandchildren - Grayson, Zachary, Jonathan, Tony, Amber, Christopher, Timothy, Kyle, Elizabeth, Roger, Jessica, Zachary, Jenny, Ryan, Cathy, Lakesha, Latesha, Marcus, Arianna, Shaelynn, Darius, Sarah, Francis, Bobby, Jimmy, Stephen, Randy, Casey, Chelsea, Lauren and Tisha.

A memorial mass will be held on Tuesday, July 9 at 11 a.m. at Saint Angela Merici Catholic Church in Missouri City with Father John Cahoon officiating. Inurnment will follow on Wednesday, July 10, at 10:30 a.m. at Houston National Cemetery with long-time family friend Father Charles Samperi officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of the individual’s choosing.