Luther A. Tinsley Jr.

A celebration of life for Luther will be held Saturday, March 9, 2024 from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM at Dignity Memorial Life Celebration Center, 7134 Powell Road, Wildwood, Florida 34785.

The below is an abridgement of the obituary originally written by Luther Alexander Tinsley, Jr. who carefully planned each detail of this Celebration of Life:

Luther, the fourth son and seventh child of Luther Alexander Tinsley Sr. and Emma Teresa, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 6th, 1942. He was also known as Lu, Uncle Lu, Grandpa, Pops, Dad, and Diddy.

At 13, he met Dorothea Adell Killebrew and from then on they were inseparable. In high school, Luther was a member of the Mustang Varsity football team and Dorothea was a member of the Mustang Varsity cheerleaders' team.

Always a warrior for social justice, Luther marched on Washington in 1963 and was present for the “I have a dream” speech. He continued to be politically active throughout his life. After marrying Dorothea in 1964, Luther worked for the city of Philadelphia as an Engineering Aide while his new wife worked as a dental assistant. Luther also attended Temple University in Philadelphia in the evenings.

Their first child, DuWayne Alexander, was born in 1966. In 1968 their second son, Martin Luther, was born and so named as he was born the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King. In 1973, their third son, Johnathan Edward, was born. Later that same year Luther and Dorothea moved their family of five from Philadelphia to Colorado in aspirations of providing additional opportunities to their children. While in Colorado, Luther worked as a construction manager. The family then relocated to Iowa in 1978. In 1979, the family expanded to include a daughter, Danielle Dorothea.

Luther was also a creative entrepreneur who hustled for his family. He supported his wife in opening Dot’s Sandwich Shop while living in Iowa, bought and ran an ice cream truck in North Carolina, and was a real estate broker in Florida to name just a few of his endeavors. Even at the time of his death he was pursuing a patent. He also spent nearly a year in Saudi Arabia working as a government contractor.

At his day job as a construction manager, Luther was required to travel and relocated the family many times on different construction projects. During the '80s and early 90’s the family lived throughout upstate New York. In the late 90’s, with all of their children now grown, Luther and Dorothea moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina. Dorothea was diagnosed with Cancer in 2001 and passed away in 2002. Luther and Dorothea’s relationship spanned 47 years as a couple and 38 years married. Luther continued to keep her memory alive and spoke of her often. He even signed every card he sent “with love from down here and up above” with both of their names for the remainder of his life.

Luther later moved to Alabama where he continued to work for the government in Construction Management before returning to Fayetteville, North Carolina. In 2013, Luther retired and moved to The Villages, Florida. He called it “Heaven on Earth” and his only lament was that his late wife was unable to join him there. But he often noted that her heavenly home was still far supreme and that he would see her there in the future. In 2016, he met Sue Spaulding and in 2017 they married. They spent several happy years together before separating, but parted as friends.

In 2021, Luther suffered a debilitating heart attack. He survived, in part, due to the heroic actions of Officer Clark who continued to perform CPR on Luther long after others thought there was no hope of him breathing again. After 10 minutes without a heartbeat, the paramedics arrived and were able to restart Luther’s heart. Luther miraculously recovered and lived nearly three more years. During this bonus time he was able to spend additional time with family and friends, plan this celebration of life, and meet his first great grandchild.

Luther loved dancing, music, watching basketball, politics, fried foods, and most importantly Jesus. Luther was quick to smile, always laughing, and made friends everywhere he went. Despite his many residence changes, he always considered Philadelphia his hometown.

Luther is survived by his three sons and a daughter. He also leaves behind a sister, sister-in-law, brothers, grandchildren, a great granddaughter, godchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and many more family and friends. Luther has gone home to be with those loved ones who predeceased him including his brothers, sisters, parents, in-laws, friends, and his beloved wife Dorothea.