Obituary of Craig Alfred Lunde

Craig Alfred Lunde passed away on April 16, 2019 at Salem Hospital after a short battle with pneumonia. Craig was born on March 29, 1944, to Alfred and Dorothy Lunde in Seattle Washington, and was the 3rd of three children. As a boy he enjoyed swimming, fishing and spent many weekends with his ski team at Snoqualmie Pass. As a young teenager he spent many of his summers working at the Conference Center in Cannon Beach, OR. and golfing with his high school golf team. During his later teenage years he had the opportunity to travel the world with his mother and brother, Graham and a few close family friends. One of his favorite places was a tree house restaurant in Africa. He enjoyed life and the people close to him. On May 16, 1966 he found his Savior. His life was transformed and he was changed forever. In the fall of 1966 Craig enrolled in Seattle Bible College and began his 5 year journey to Pastor. In May of 1967 after asking 19 times, he began dating the love of his life, Joyce Minton and they were married June 20, 1968. They welcomed their first daughter Kara in 1970. Craig graduated with a BA in Theology in 1971. Eager to Pastor, Craig and Joyce took their first assignment in 1971 as Youth Pastors in Lincoln City, OR. There, in 1974 they welcomed their son Jason. It was also there that Craig developed his love for hunting. They continued to follow God’s calling and in 1974 accepted a position at Brooks Assembly of God Church. In 1977, they welcomed their 2nd daughter Lori. God called Craig and Joyce to senior Pastor their first church in 1979 in Knappa, OR. It was his absolute joy to serve the people and he was often found at the coffee shop, visiting a friend at work or at the school’s football games. Craig and Joyce were honored to also Pastor in Moscow, ID, Shady Cove, OR, Snohomish, WA, Milton Freewater, OR, Keizer, OR, and most recently Sweet Home, OR. Craig was a beloved husband, dad, grandpa, son, brother and friend. He was known to have never met a stranger. In fact, without hesitation his first words to someone would almost always be, “Where were you born and raised?” This opened the doors wide open to get to know them and ultimately show them the love of God. He was a great cook, loved music, his family, everything outdoors, classic cars, people and most of all Jesus. He was preceded in death by his parents Alfred and Dorothy, and his brother, Graham. He is survived by his wife Joyce; daughter Kara (Korry) Fairfield, their children, Madison, Kellen & Isaac; son Jason (Melissa) Lunde, their children Tyson & Kylee; daughter Lori (Scott) Hedlund and their children Ocean (Ruthie), Caspian, Zion, Cayman, Ava, Laia, Zaiden, Ezariah, great grand daughter Penny; sister Beth (Jerry) Hulsman, their children Peter, Kyle & Sally; sister in law Phyllis and her children Paul (Andrea), Joel (Lisa), Gordon, Autumn and Laila (Bret) Schmid. A celebration of life service will be on Sunday, May 5, 2019 at 2pm at Life Spring Church - 9165 Portland Rd NE Salem, OR 97305.