- Date Of Birth: April 12, 1942
- Date Of Death: September 9, 2022
- State: Pennsylvania
Terry Luckenbach, 80, of Bethlehem, died on Friday Sept. 9, 2022 at his home. He is the son of the late Fred and Lorraine (Hassler) Luckenbach. He was predeceased by his wife, Elsie (Cowley). He is survived by his sister Sally Luckenbach and her husband P.K. Govind; his brother Roger Luckenbach and wife Sue, and sister-in-law Dorothy Berosh (the late Joseph) and companion Joe Hacker; nieces Robin Griego, Michal Onyon. (Sean); Wendy Berg, (John); Debbie Schmidt and Heather Bauer (Joseph), and nephews Terry Schaffer (Jill); Danny Schmidt (Jen); Marshall Vale (the late Katie); Shawn Berosh (Rachel) and Eric Berosh (KJ). He was predeceased by sisters Phyllis Luch (the late Warren); and Susan Schmidt (the late Ralph).
He served in the National Guard in the early ‘60s.
Terry was the recipient of a generous donor’s liver in a 1995 transplant, a gift he never forgot. His transplant was done at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. His family members remember and honor Terry’s friend, John Parks, who drove Terry to Philadelphia the night an appropriate donor was found; the team that transplanted that liver; the many doctors, nurses and other staff members who helped him live another 26 3/4 years, and Lehigh Valley Hospice and Home Instead personnel who helped him in his last five days.
He was a member of Lehigh Valley Timing Association; the League of Silent Flight; Valley Sailplane and Electric Modelaires, and a former volunteer at America on Wheels.
At a teenager, Terry rebuilt cars and began a drag racing career that took him to tracks in various locations, and earned him more than 50 trophies. Terry’s education came from the freedom he had as a child, and from the various jobs he held, beginning at age 14 with Albeth Ice Co., then Ray Electronics; Bethlehem Steel and Homer Research, and, in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, he designed then built a 16-foot, double-hulled fiberglass runabout boat. He formed his company, Aqua-Glass Molding Corporation, and was about to take his boat into production when the first gas crisis hit in 1973, sending the price of necessary materials sky high. He sold Aqua-Glass and began work as plant manager for Hycon, later renamed Hydac, retiring in 2000. His home workshop then was devoted to the design and building of remote control sailplanes, and his work was the subject of a video entitled, Composite Molding Made Easy.
Terry designed and built the home he lived in with help from his late father-in-law, Louis Cowley. Both worked second shift and spent mornings and early afternoons working on the house, completing it in 1971. Terry’s wish to spend his last days at home were granted, thanks to Lehigh Valley Hospice and Home Instead.
