Lucian Lester Loman

Lucian Lester Loman, 91, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, passed away on October 31, 2019 in Hospice Care at Katherine's Place Wedington. He was born on November 24, 1927 in Cotter, Arkansas to George Allen and Ruby Elizabeth Loman. He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Roy Kay Loman (Mary Lou), of Shawnee, Oklahoma; and two sisters, Geneva Rae Moore (Harold) of Shawnee, Oklahoma, and Louise Ramsey (Robert) of Grandview, Missouri ; Sister-in-Law Mary Lou Loman, nieces Connie Ramsey Halbasch, and Cynthia Ramsey Combs of Kansas City, Missouri area, and nephew, Frank Loman of Shawnee, Oklahoma, and many special beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins. Lucian graduated high school in Dale, Oklahoma in 1944. He attended Oklahoma A and M (now OSU) enlisting in the Merchant Marines as soon as he was of age, sailing aboard ships to Korea, Manila, Shanghai, China, Okinawa, and other Oriental ports serving until after World War II ended, then returning home to Shawnee, Oklahoma to marry "his girl" Wanda Mae White, in April, 1946. Lucian began in his career field with Southwestern Bell in 1947 in Malvern, Arkansas. In 1948 he moved to Fayetteville SWB and in 1964 he was hired away from Southwestern Bell, Fayetteville, by the Prairie Grove Telephone Company (where he enjoyed working with Donald and Barry Parks and David Parks and many others who became dear friends until his retirement in 1990). In the Spring of 1964 when the SEFOR project was installed there was a complicated technical requirement for a very complex communications system. The Southwestern Bell Independent Relations Manager In Little Rock described LucIan as the best central office technician in the state of Arkansas at that time, and offered to "loan him to PGTC as long as they needed him " unaware that he had been hired by PGTC 3 months earlier in order to begin providing private telephone lines in homes all over their territory (Prior to this time each home was on a party line ). His accomplishments were many and his efforts added materially to the progress of telephony, having completed the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (ITT Telecommunications) Maintenance Course, installed Mitel's EPABXs; demonstrated his knowledge and capability on the SX 100/200 Superswitch; completed 80 hours in Northern Telecom Technical Training Engineering Course , and 200 hours in Northern Telecom Maintenance Course , completed training in the Apparatus Division of ITT in System 3100 Installation and Maintenance; installed equipment and performed services for Aerofone Company in Fayetteville (long distance for less in 1983); completed 40 additional hours in technical training Maintenance Refresher Course ; completed a training course of SL-1 N Installation at Northern Telecom Inc ; and completed 16 more hours in DMS-10 Translations for Implementation of Equal Access at Northern Telecom. All of these completed technical training courses made Lucian such a knowledgeable and valuable asset to his employers, and Lucian shared his knowledge of telephony willingly consulting to help future Telephone Engineers learn more about serving their customers. His family was indeed very proud of all he contributed to the advancement of telephony during his era of service. As an interesting tidbit of trivia, LucIan installed the "red phones" at each booth in B and B Bar-B-Q (a nostalgic landmark of Fayetteville for @ 60years) - now known as Penguin Ed's West - and those red phones are still being used today to "phone in" orders to the kitchen ! Lucian was a faithful church member and deacon, choir member, and church treasurer of First Baptist Church of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, for over 20 years and in 1992 began serving as a faithful deacon at First Baptist Church of Fayetteville, Arkansas, until such time as Dementia rendered him no longer able to attend church. Lucian began "by reputation" serving many friends and families through his various giftings for over 50 years anytime he knew of a need. He was lovingly referred to as their personal gardener expert, and highly respected as the "neighborhood handyman" by many neighbors on his street. He enjoyed "helping" his neighbors in any way that he was capable, and made many friends because of his willingness to help anyone in need. (This was an attribute he learned from his mother at an early age, and was influenced and guided to help others also by his uncle T.M. Rea ) Lucian's life of public service began as he volunteered for Maritime Service prior to becoming a Merchant Marine. He honorably served the National Guard of Arkansas, he was a technical engineer completing many training courses in order to best serve his customers; an ordained deacon in his churches , a member of the Gideons International, and a member of Independent Telephone Pioneer Association His hobbies included raising and training bird dogs, pheasant and deer hunting trips with friends; fishing and water skiing with friends and family, bowling; vegetable and flower gardening; playing dominoes and the card game, PITCH, marathon style, often lasting 2-3 days with his sister Louise and her husband Robert; golf with friends; and he and Wanda became avid Arkansas Razorback fans as soon as Coach Frank Broyles arrived in Fayetteville ( Lucian's son-in-Law, Jim Mullins, later played football for the University of Arkansas under Coach Broyles ) Lucian had a sense of humor that only his brother and sister-in-law, Mary Lou; his sister, Louise and her husband Robert; his nephew Gary White and wife, Barbara White, could ignite in hilarious robust ways. He had so much fun when they were around, each attempting to "out-funny" him. They seldom won the best prank award - he was always the most clever to a fault, or so it always seemed to his daughter, Donna. Lucian is survived by his wife, Wanda; and daughter, Donna Mullins (Jim) of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and son Gerald Loman (Marie) of Lincoln, Alabama; Grandchildren: Robyn Mullins Taylor (Rod) of Elm Springs, Arkansas, Michelle Mullins Peevy of Montgomery Alabama, and John David Mullins (Becka) of Fayetteville; Great-Grandchildren: Blake Taylor (Megan), Sarah Taylor, Brandon Taylor, Kaylee Peevy, Kaitlyn Mullins, John Werner Mullins and James Porter Mullins. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, November 5, at 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church, Fayetteville. A visitation with the family will be held in the church lobby at 1:00 p.m. prior to the service. Arrangements are being handled by Luginbuel Funeral Home of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. Officiants are Dr. Douglas Falknor, and Dr. Jere Mitchell. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Broyles Foundation (a caregiver support ministry) located at 3810 N Front St #3 Fayetteville, Arkansas 72703 - or the First Baptist Church, Fayetteville Memorial fund. To sign the online guest book, please visit www.luginbuel.com