Memorial Services Are Set for Retired Minister Earl H. Lusk

A memorial service will be held Jan. 20 for the Rev. Earl H. Lusk at the Lutheran Church of the Incarnation in Poway, where he was pastor for 17 years. Lusk died of cancer Monday at his Rancho Bernardo home. He was 69.

When he retired in 1986, Lusk had completed 41 years in the Lutheran ministry. Before becoming pastor of the Poway church in 1969, he served for 24 years as pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lincolnwood, Ill.

Lusk also served as dean of the San Diego District of the Lutheran Church in America, coordinating cooperative activities among the 13 congregations in his district. His duties included assisting in placing new pastors and providing pastoral services to congregations temporarily without a pastor.

Lusk spearheaded major construction projects at both the Poway and Lincolnwood churches to accommodate continuous growth. In Illinois, he was president of the Lutheran Council of Greater Chicago, chairman of the board of Augustana College in Rock Island, and founding president of the Human Relations Council of Niles Township.

Born in St. Paul, Minn., Lusk received a bachelor of arts degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., and received his training for ordination at the Augustana Theological Seminary in Rock Island, Ill.

Survivors include his wife, Rose Marie; son Stephen Nelson of Albuquerque, N.M.; daughters Sandra Schneider of Manitou Beach, Mich., and Sharon Nelson of Rancho Bernardo, and three grandchildren.

Lusk is also survived by two brothers, Charles Lusk of Borrego Springs and George Lusk of Phoenix, and two sisters, Gloria Kambak of Elk Grove, Calif., and Joyce Hanson of Newport Beach.

The memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Jan. 20 at the church, 16889 Espola Road. Instead of flowers, the family asks that contributions be sent to the Rev. Earl H. Lusk Memorial Fund, in care of the church.