Herbert Luster

Herbert Richard "Lefty" Luster, 80, of Casa Grande died peacefully on Jan. 11, 2012, at Kindred Transitional Care and Rehabilitation Northwest in Tucson, with his family by his side.
Visitation will begin at 6 p.m. Monday at J. Warren Funeral Services, Cole & Maud The Gardens Chapel. The funeral will follow at 7, with Rick Luster officiating. A graveside service will be held at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, in Phoenix.
Mr. Luster was born on June 21, 1931, in Hearne, Texas, and was a son of Herbert C. and Margaret Luster. He served with the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade in the Korean War and was wounded in August 1950, losing his right arm and receiving the Purple Heart Medal. He ran track at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas and Mississippi College in Clinton but graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
He ran the mile and tied with another runner in the Olympic Trials, losing out in a coin toss. He was a teacher and coach for 15 years and then a pastor for 10 years.
Survivors include his wife, Romaine, with whom he celebrated 60 years of marriage on Dec. 24; three sons, Rick Luster of Casa Grande, Daniel R. Luster of Page and William R. Luster of Elizabeth, Colo.; two daughters, Rachel McDonald of Peoria and Laura Hintze of Tucson; two brothers, Hal Luster of Carrollton, Texas, and Lynn Zickefoose of Connecticut; two sisters, Louise McArthur of Monticello, Ark., and Rita Reed of Benton, Ark.; 16 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two sons, Richard G. and Caleb Luster, and a sister, Barbara Ichniowski.