Leroy E. Gunderson

Leroy Gunderson, 92, of Mt. Pleasant passed away Monday, July 11, 2016, at Woodland Hospice. A Funeral Mass for Leroy will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday, July 18, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Father Thomas J. McNamara as celebrant. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery with military honors. A luncheon will conclude at Riverwood Resort. The family will receive visitors at Charles R. Lux Family Funeral Home on Sunday from 3-6 p.m. Visitation continues at the church on Monday one hour prior to Mass. Memorial contributions may be made to Sacred Heart Parish. Envelopes are available at the funeral home. Leroy was born June 13, 1924, in Lansing, MI son of the late Leroy A. and Bertha E. (Mock) Gunderson. He graduated from Lapeer High School and, after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in physical education from Michigan State University. While at MSU he played varsity basketball, football and track. On Oct. 24, 1964 he married Martha Sibal at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in East Lansing. He taught at St. Michaels in Flint for 11 years and coached basketball, football and track in Otisville where he led the track team to a state championship in 1951. He became a member of the Professional Golfers Association in 1967 and was head pro at Pine Lake Country Club in Okemos and Mt. Pleasant Country Club before establishing The Golf Center in 1973. He co-founded the Junior Golf program in Mt. Pleasant in 1977 and led the program for 28 years where thousands of youth learned to play, and some went on to professional golf careers. Leroy was a member of Sacred Heart Parish and a longtime member of the Mt. Pleasant Lions Club. In 2008 he was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellow Award from the Lions Club and was elected to the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame. Leroy is survived by his wife of 52 years, Martha; three children, Stephen (Lori) Gunderson of Kettering, OH, Anne (James) Sewell of Boulder, CO and Mary Gunderson of Arlington, VA; seven grandchildren, Josh, Jake, and Abby Gunderson, Jack and Nicholas Sewell, and Elizabeth and Olivia Gunderson Goddard; one sister-in-law, Agnes Sibal of Mt. Pleasant; brother-in-law, Al Upleger of New Port Richey, FL; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Robert Gunderson; and two sisters, Patricia Upleger and Elizabeth Morett.