Former resident and community volunteer, engineer, outdoorsman
David Luther. (Courtesy photo)
David Alan Luther, 81, died Jan. 14, 2024, in Medway after a battle with lung cancer.
David was born in Utica, New York, and spent his formative years falling in love with the outdoors in the Adirondacks. In David and his wife Ann’s early years, he co-owned a float plane with two friends. One of David’s grandchildrens’ favorite stories is about grandma and grandpa taking the float plane to Skaneateles Lake to attend President Biden’s first wedding. David had befriended Joe Biden during his time at Syracuse University.
David earned his bachelor’s degree from Clarkson University and a master’s degree in computer engineering from the University of Utah, where he met his wife, Ann Collins Luther of Ogden, Utah. They married in March 1969 and had a skiing honeymoon in Jackson Hole. That kicked off a marriage filled with travel and outdoor adventures. Ann and David loved traveling the world together and drove across the country in a family motorhome they named the yellow bullet, a 1977 mustard-yellow GMC.
David had a successful and busy career, beginning as a civil service electronic engineer supporting airfare intelligence and reconnaissance. He worked in Utah with Evans and Sutherland and Digital, and then as an executive at Kodak and Polaroid. The Luthers settled in Harvard in 1977 and were active in the community here.
Wherever David lived he raised animals and a garden that seemed to get bigger with each year. He skillfully grew fruit, veggies, and flowers from seed, a passion shared by his son Eric. Moving from Harvard to a house built in 1776 in Groton, David could always be found working on various home improvement projects, building chicken coops and pig pens, patios, and a few decks. David and Ann enjoyed over 20 years there, hosting gatherings for the family, including two of their children’s weddings. David and Ann opened a wholesale bakery for a few years, selling Ann’s famous brownies. In retirement and up until his last year of life, he honed his woodworking skills by building furniture for friends and family.
David never stopped enjoying being in his canoe or on the side of a body of water fishing. He was a constant reader, a library regular, and a Boston Pops season ticket holder. David’s wife, Ann, has suffered with Alzheimer’s for many years; David managed her care as she transitioned to a memory care facility three years ago.
David was predeceased by his father, Harold Howe Luther; mother, Lois Mildred Barnum Luther; and his grandson Halen Bradosky. David is survived by his wife of 55 years, Ann Luther of Medway; his uncle, Alan Roy Barnum of Utica, New York; his sister, Susan Jean Luther Kiesel of Sauquoit, New York; and brother, Thomas Arthur Luther of Albany, New York; his son, Adam David Luther (Amy) and grandchildren Jade and Mya of Heber, Utah; his son, Eric Thomas Luther (Jessica) and grandchildren Aizel and Ojia of Hillsboro, New Mexico; and his daughter, Molly Ann Luther Bradosky (James) and grandchildren Camden, Parley, Taggart, and Kai of Medway.
A private memorial will be held at a later date. Send condolences to the family at mollybradosky@live.com.
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