Years Of Service Were Lutz's Legacy

Years of service were Lutz's legacy

Kiwanis member worked to repay kindnesses all his life

BY GEOFF LARCOM

News Staff Reporter

Gerry Lutz, who developed vision problems at a young age, became a familiar sight around downtown Ann Arbor as he made his way around the streets with a white cane and his thick glasses.

He got around so well and so much because he was good at it, but also to follow through on his vision of public service -n myriad community activities that he described as payback for the kindnesses he received as a youngster.

“People have helped me all of my life, and I’m simply trying to pay them back,” he said in a 1991 Ann Arbor News story. “Helping people is the name of the game.”

Lutz, 70, died Wednesday at Chelsea Retirement Community.

He earned his living as an insurance agent, but Lutz is most remembered for his four decades of activities in Kiwanis, an international service organization.

Dexter’s Fred Model, a longtime friend who met Lutz through Kiwanis, marveled at his energy and ability to find his way around despite his diminished vision. “He was one of a kind,” Model said.

Longtime friend Rick Wresche, who also met Lutz through Kiwanis, would often give him a ride home on Thursdays. Lutz worked down the street from Wresche’s employer, Naylor Motors.

Wresche recalled how Lutz loved listening to the radio, including Detroit Tigers broadcasts. He also recalled Lutz’s long involvement with Kiwanis, where he helped establish several new clubs and served in a variety of leadership positions.

Wresche, who visited Lutz when he was recently ill at Chelsea Retirement Home, said one of the first things Lutz inquired about was a prospective member of their Kiwanis club.

Lutz was a passionate supporter of University of Michigan athletics, and loved music and pro sports. “He was never depressed,” said Mary Jane Roth, a sister who lives in East Lansing. “He never complained or felt sorry for himself.”

Said Judy VanCuren, a niece who lives in Stuart, Fla.: “He was just so eager to seize the moment and go and do.”

Friends and family also recalled Lutz’s uncanny memory, which he put to use as a historian for his Kiwanis district. “My God, it was like a sponge,” Van-Curen said. “He remembered minute details of everything. He could recite phone numbers, addresses, dates and locations. He couldn’t write things down, so it was all in his mind.”

“He never met anyone that he didn’t automatically consider a friend,” said Mary Lou Roth-Ramage, a niece who lives in Flint. “And he remembered them, always.”

Lutz’s other community involvement included a long tenure on the Ann Arbor Taxicab Board, serving as a delegate to the state Republican convention, a stint on the Ann Arbor Youth Commission, and several positions with the Salvation Army.

Lutz attended the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing and graduated from Ann Arbor High School in 1955 and from U-M in 1961 with a degree in sociology.

At U-M, he was helped by people who read to him. “I made up my mind that, after graduation, I would pay back their kindnesses,” he told The Ann Arbor News in 1991.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Erwin; and a sister, Dorothy Young.

Along with his sister, Mary Jane Roth, he is survived by various nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 6 at Bethlehem United Church of Christ, 423 S. Fourth Avenue.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Lutz’s name to either the Kiwanis of Michigan Foundation or the Salvation Army

Gerry Lutz: Remembered for four decades of work in the Kiwanis service organization.

News staff reporter Geoff Larcom can be reached at glarcom@annarbornews.com or (734) 994-6838.