Obituary of Buster Donald Lunsford

In loving memory of Buster Donald Lunsford, 92, born in Okemah, Oklahoma and passed away in Santa Cruz, California. His father, Hester Floyd "Shorty" Lunsford and mother, Jessie Opal Lunsford, raised him along with his 2 brothers and 4 sisters in Oklahoma. Buster eventually jumped on a train, ended up in California and joined the Navy in 1943 as a Seaman First Class. He served on both the USS Raby and USS Ozark and was honorably discharged in 1946. Then, the story goes like this. Soon after leaving the Navy, Buster was corralled by two of his brothers, (Jack and Fred) and they asked him, "Where are you going?" Buster replied, "I'm going home." His brothers said, "No, you're coming with us." So they took him to a church where he was eventually baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and received the Holy Ghost. Buster then became a licensed minister in the United Pentecostal Church International and served for 50 years. He met Dorothy Ellen Michael in 1948 and they married in 1950. Eventually they migrated to Soquel and raised four sons, Ronald, Michael, Dale and Randy. Buster worked in construction most of his life and joined the local Laborers Union 270 in 1957, receiving his 50 year gold card in January of 2008. Buster and Dorothy would have celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary this year, but 67 years of marriage is still top notch! Buster is survived by his wife Dorothy, 2 sons (Ronald and Dale), 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by 1 sister who still resides in Oklahoma.