John Gilbert Luttring Jr.

John and Ruth Luttring raised two children, JG and Tyrone, at 110 Afton Ave, Norfolk, VA until 1948. Mother worked as a CRNA Anesthetist, and Dad tried driving a bus, then managing a Gulf Oil gasoline station. Finally he opened an electric appliance repair shop. In 1948 the family of four moved to Houston, Tx and rented a 2-bedroom house with front porch at 3325 Leonidas St. The owner was Uncle Robert S. Willis. On Sunday Mother drove JG and Tyrone to church at 220 East Cowan Dr, the home of Robert and Bernice Willis. Inez Keys lead the congregational singing in the Sunday meetings. In 1952 the family hired architect Yevone Smith to plan a ‘ranch style’ 3-bedroom home with distinctive corner windows at 3921 Brookwoods Dr. The property required a private water well and a septic sewer system. Houston Lighting & Power supplied electricity.

In the 1950’s & 1960’s Mother and adolescents John Jr and Tyrone drove the family car to Austin, Tx to attend the 4-day Round Rock Gospel Convention in the heat of July on the Walden family farm. Tyrone professed to serve Christ there at age eleven. John Jr professed at a Jim McLeod gospel meeting at about age thirteen. June 02, 1961 John graduated from S.P. Waltrip Senior High. July 19, 1961 John is approved Admission to the University of Houston. June 04, 1966 John is awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology. 1966 – 1968 John was drafted as Class 1A to serve in the U.S. Army doing medical lab work at Hannau, West Germany. After an Honorable Discharge with Rank E4, John came home to Brookwoods, then drove his AMC Rambler to Youngstown, Ohio. After twelve months schooling he was granted a Medical Technology Certificate on February 28, 1970. 1978 – 1988 John lived at 3921 Brookwoods and worked ten years at Hermann Hospital Hematology Lab, and earned a modest Pension of $293.11/Mo, realized in 2004. Father died of congestive heart failure in April 1986. Mother died of left Breast Cancer metastasis on January 15, 1989.

John quit working in December 1988, stayed reclusive, living at the Brookwoods home another five years. He neglected the extensive yard, hoarded junk mail inside the house, and finally unplugged the refrigerator. After Sunday meeting at the Chuck and Teresa Bunger home in May 1994, brother Emil visited John’s Brookwoods home to discover the deplorable conditions. The following day Emil drove John to the Michael E DeBakey Veteran’s Hospital to get a physical exam. The psychiatrist determined John was afflicted with Schizophrenia. So John signed himself into the VA Psychiatric Ward to seek treatment. About two weeks later he was released to an Assisted Living Home of his selection. He chose Lorraine Fairfax’s Sunset Villa at 5311 Blueberry Hill Dr, Houston, TX 77084-3007. There he shared one bathroom with four other patients in a 3-bedroom residential home. The live-in caretaker was chef Norris James. The 1994 monthly rent was $800, by June 2010 she charged $2300. So Emil and Betty searched for another Senior Living facility and found the Duplex Room style at Hearthstone Senior Living Center at 11246 Fallbrook Dr. Apt 31B, Houston, TX 77065. Two residents shared one bathroom for $1,822/Mo. Medical treatment for hypertension, type-2 diabetes mellitus, and schizophrenia is prescribed by VA physicians with copay. Emil became the fiduciary managing John’s bank accounts, CD’s, and annuities on a Quicken SE accounting program running under Windows 95. John lived at Sunset Villa for 16 years, then 13 years at Hearthstore, Elmcroft, Windermere Estates. In 2022 John’s personal hygiene practices had turned awful, as Chuck Bunger discovered on recent visits to John’s Room 69A.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic Emil had been delivering John’s monthly Rent Payment at the facility front door, so he was unaware of living conditions in John’s room. Sunday 29 Jan 2023 at 4:50pm, just before John’s suppertime, Emil got a call from Windermere Estates asking permission to send John to HCA North Cypress Hospital for treatment after he fainted, fell in the hallway, and injured his right knee. Consent was given. On Monday Emil delivered the Rent prepayment for February 2023 at the front door and noticed that John had not returned from the hospital. A 11:15am phone call on Thursday 02 Feb 23 from North Cypress fifth-floor orthopedics nurse forecast the transfer John to a Rehab facility. On Saturday 04 Feb 23 Emil replied to 2 Emails: first from Terri Kidd forecasting John’s move to Encompass Cypress, second from Analinne Bourque at Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital regarding John’s medical history. Then on Wednesday 08 Feb 23 a call from North Cypress asked consent for endoscopy of John’s distended stomach. Finally, a call from North Cypress at 12:27 pm Friday 17 Feb 23 said John had entered cardiac arrest, and reasonable resuscitation attempts had failed to revive him.