La Grande, Oregon
Keith Mickey Lundgren, 89, of Boise and formerly of La Grande died Jan. 9 at his home.
Mr. Lundgren was born May 6, 1917, in Osceola, Neb. As a young man growing up on the Great Plains, Keith was drawn to the romance of the railroad and the possibilities of the West.
After graduating from Grand Island High School in Nebraska, he joined the U.S. Navy. He spent six years, just prior to World War II, aboard the U.S.S. Lexington traveling around the Pacific and through the Panama Canal, including several weeks searching for the lost aviator Amelia Earhart across the central Pacific Ocean in 1937.
Mr. Lundgren was discharged from the Navy in 1941 and went to work at the Naval Shipyards in Bremerton, Wash., as a coppersmith.
It was there that he met his future wife, Jacqueline, daughter of his coppersmith instructor.
In 1945 Keith was hired by the Union Pacific Railroad. He spent his career as a brakeman and conductor working around the Pacific Northwest for Union Pacific and Amtrak, primarily out of Portland and La Grande until retiring in 1982.
After retirement, Keith and Jacqueline moved to Tillamook County, where they enjoyed saltwater fishing, crabbing, clamming and entertaining family and friends.
In 2002 they moved to Boise to be closer to family.
Mr. Lundren was a long-time member of the Elks. He will be remembered by his family for his low-key and benevolent ways and for his ready enjoyment of the humor that life offers.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Jacqueline S. Lundgren of Boise; children, Stewart G. Lundgren of Boise and Barbara J. Burdon of suburban Seattle, Wash.; five grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Life’s Doors Hospice in Boise.
The Observer – Obituaries for the week ending Jan. 13, 2006, Published: January 13, 2007