William A. Lukey

William A. "Bill" Lukey, LTC (Ret), US Air Force Reserve" 94, died on November 9,2016,
in Ft. Collins, CO. He was born in Decatur, IL on September 27, 1922 to Floyd and Clara Lukey.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie Joann (Burg), his parents, a sister (Edna Flay
Mannering), a brother (Robert), and a nephew (William Davis). He is survived by a daughter,
Susan Mansfield, (Robert) of Ft. Collins, CO, 2 grandchildren, Elizabeth Dickson (Patrick) of FT
Collins and Paul Richards (Martina) of AI-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, 4 great-grandchildren (Camille,
Zachariah, Taggart and Sam), a niece (Kay Gesell) of Cumming, GA and a nephew, Doug
Mannering (Lynette) of Loveland, CO.

Bill attended Millikin University in Decatur, IL until leaving college at the end of his
sophomore year to serve in the US Army Air Corps as a 2LT flying C-47 transports in the Pacific
theater. LT Lukey flew over the vast expanse of the Pacific OCean mostly by dead reckoning as
navigation equipment was still in it's infancy. After WWII he broke away from the US Army and
served in the US Air Force when it became a separate branch in 1948. He remained in the US
Air Force Reserve, retiring as a LTC after 20 years of service.

After WWII ended, he returned to finish his studies at Millikin University. He married
Joann and they lived in Decatur until both retired. Over the years, he worked with his father in
housing construction, then with various construction companies until retiring as an estimator
with Gates & Sons. In retirement, he lived in Ocala, FL; Prescott, AZ; and Ft. Collins, CO.

A military graveside service will be held at Ft. Logan National Cemetery in CO.