Earl Edward Lukkes

Earl Edward Lukkes

Nov. 8, 1937 – July 6, 2022

Earl Edward Lukkes, our loving father, grandpa, brother, uncle and friend, passed away on July 6, 2022, in Billings with his family by his side, from complications from a stroke.

Earl was born Nov. 8, 1937, in Park City, Montana. Son of R.J. and Jennie Lukkes, he attended school in Reed Point and Columbus, Montana, where he graduated. Earl worked for Columbus Creamery and for Sawyer’s Grocery Store and managed the store in Red Lodge after high school.

He was drafted into the Army and stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, from 1959 through 1962, and he stayed in Oklahoma, where he worked managing the Books and Records Department at Trade Mart in Lawton and Enid for several years.

Earl moved his family to Lovell in 1968 and worked for Georgia-Pacific until 1973. Then he went to work for Big Horn County Weed and Pest for 30 years. After retiring, Earl and Wanda became snowbirds in Casa Grande, Arizona. 

Earl married Wanda Mae Mathes May 20, 1961; they were married for 49 years. Wanda passed away March 24, 2011.

God was important to Earl. He was confirmed and baptized in Columbus in 1952. He reconfirmed his baptism on March 8, 2015, in the Jordan River in Israel. He was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church.

Earl will be remembered as a happy person who always had a big smile for everyone. There wasn’t a function he wouldn’t attend. His hobbies were with the Pryor Mountain Mustangs Association, riding mustangs and breaking and raising them. He loved camping on the Big Horns and ATVing with The Old Dogs. He loved dancing, cooking, playing cards, doing puzzles and spending time with family. 

Earl was blessed with one son, Rodney, his two grandchildren, Chase and Cheylee, and one great-grandson, Riggen, all of Wyoming. Earl is also survived by his two brothers, Eugene and James, and one sister, Jane Webb, along with nieces and nephews. 

Family members preceding him in death were his father, mother, wife and nephew Doug Swanson.

Memorials may be made to the Earl Lukkes Memorial Fund. Cards can be mailed to 290 Shoshone Ave., Lovell, WY 82431.

Funeral services for Earl were held July 12, 2022, at 9 a.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church, followed by burial at Mountain View Cemetery in Columbus.