America's Obituaries & Death Notices
Paper: Tucson Citizen (AZ)
Deceased: 
Date: June 19, 2004

D-Day vet was known for his helpfulness
Even in his 80s, Chetney Lubben and wife volunteered to deliver meals 
to the sick and homebound.

 By MARY BUSTAMANTE

 Chetney Lubben missed his 96th birthday by about an hour and a half, 
but he missed out on little else in his lifetime.

 Mr. Lubben, who died Thursday night, didn't miss out on a loving, 
four-decade-long relationship with his wife, Ramona. They had been married 
41 years before she passed away two years ago.

 He didn't miss out on being a part of one of history's most heroic 
events. At age 35, as a private first class in the U.S. Army, Mr. Lubben 
landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

 He was shot in the head at the Battle of the Bulge and spent many 
months in hospitals before he was released with his "little war souvenir," 
a metal plate in his head.

 But Mr. Lubben never felt sorry for himself and never let his injury, 
which restricted movement of his right side, keep him from making sure 
people who knew him didn't miss out on his helpfulness.

 That was a philosophy that continued throughout his life, including 
when Ramona and he, in his 80s, worked as volunteers at a local hospital, 
where they delivered meals to the sick and homebound.

 Even up to the last, Mr. Lubben typed 10 to 12 letters a month to 
friends, said Roy Knight, a longtime neighbor and dear friend.

 "He couldn't use one hand because of his injury, but he one-finger 
typed those letters every month, and he always got replies. To be 96 and 
still have that many friends, that's amazing," Knight said.

 About 1,000 World War II veterans die each day around the world.

 "He was always helping everybody out," said Knight's wife, Mabel, who, 
along with Roy and Lubben's daughter, Patti Beauchamp, and her husband, 
Mike, kept a near-constant vigil at Lubben's bedside at Northwest 
Hospital this week.

 After six days in the hospital, Mr. Lubben died at 10:30 p.m. 
Thursday, about a half-hour after a nurse had suggested the family and friends 
go home because she thought he would sleep peacefully through the 
night.

 "He was one of these kinds of people who never wanted a fuss made of 
him," Roy Knight said. "By golly, we all think he would not die until we 
went home, because he didn't want to put us to any trouble."

 Mr. Lubben was also that way about his involvement in D-Day. He always 
would downplay any talk of personal heroics, even though he had the 
dangerous job of being one of the first scouts for his unit. If pressured, 
he'd tell you he got a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.

 He and Ramona traveled to Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, for the 
50th anniversary of D-Day 10 years ago.

 While Mr. Lubben talked last month about his 96th birthday, he hadn't 
wanted any elaborate celebration. In the end, the Knights and 
Beauchamps sat down yesterday for shrimp cocktail at a North Side Red Lobster, a 
favorite restaurant of his.

 "We had margaritas, which Chet also liked, and we raised a glass and 
told him 'Happy Birthday,' " said Roy Knight. "And that's the way he 
would have wanted it to be."

 Besides, said Knight, "since he was born in Indiana, with the time 
difference, he really did make it to 96."

 Mr. Lubben, whose body is to be cremated, requested no services. His 
remains will be taken to a cemetery in Littleton, Colo., and laid to 
rest next to his beloved Ramona. At some point there will be a private 
gathering of residents of The Inn at the Fountains, where Mr. Lubben spent 
his last years.

 His daughter said Mr. Lubben was "just loved by so many people. He 
loved all people and he brought out the best in people."

 "He was such a proper man, such a gentleman ... such a good 
Christian," she said. "We walked into his hospital room one day, and I thought he 
had died because there were six nurses standing around him, holding 
hands. But he was just sleeping, and they were saying a prayer for him."

 Mr. Lubben's daughter said friends can make donations to any hospice 
or "just do something nice for someone," the way her dad always did.
-TUCSON CITIZEN, June 19, 2004

America's Obituaries & Death Notices
Paper: Tucson Citizen (AZ)
Deceased: Chetley Lubben
Date: June 22, 2004
95, June 17, director of sales. Adair Funeral Homes Avalon Chapel
--TUCSON CITIZEN, June 22, 2004