- Date Of Birth: June 15, 1939
- Date Of Death: August 13, 2016
- State: Florida
Luther Duda, 77, of Viera, Florida went peacefully to his heavenly home on Saturday, August 13. He was a loving husband for 56 years to his high school sweetheart and beloved wife, Melanie Jackson Duda. The son of John and Katherine Duda, he was born on June 15, 1939 in Orlando, Florida. Raised in Oviedo, Florida he graduated from Oviedo High School in 1957 and from the University of Florida in 1961. While attending OHS, Luther was captain of the state champion basketball team.
His lifelong career at A. Duda & Sons, Inc. began in 1961 and took his family to Belle Glade, Florida for a while until they moved back to Oviedo, where he finished out his career in the family business. After retirement, he and Melanie lived on Sanibel Island for a few years before moving to Cocoa Beach and finally to Viera. They enjoyed traveling all over the world, but had a special fondness for Africa, where they ministered God’s love in action to those in need. Nothing was ever broken that he couldn’t fix, and he enjoyed hunting, fishing, crossword puzzles, and RC airplanes and helicopters.
Faith in Jesus Christ was first and foremost to Luther, which was evident in his convictions and words of wisdom. Using every opportunity to remind those around him to live a life of faith that makes an eternal difference, he was an example of what that looks like in action. He previously served on the Board of Regents’ at Oral Roberts University, as well as on the board of the International Christian Chamber of Commerce.
Luther was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather and was adored by his family. He is survived by his wife, Melanie; children, Debbie Martell (Paul), Darrell Duda (Barbara), Lisa Bocchino (Steve), and Denise Duda; 12 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren, who will dearly miss him. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Walter, and survived by brothers, John (Betty) and Ed (Sadye), and sister, Katherine.
