Christopher Allen Lunde

Christopher Allen Lunde (Chris), beloved father of Jennifer Harrah, Aimee Maruyama, Molly Lunde of Yellow Springs, and Christopher Lunde of Sandpoint, passed away peacefully on April 30, 2026. He was 79.

Born in Chicago on November 6, 1946, Chris was the middle child of Norman and Eleanor (Michaelson) Lunde. He grew up in a home built by his father, a bricklayer, in Elmhurst alongside his sister, Ann Moe (Tim), and his brother, Peter Lunde (Pattie). Many of those early idyllic childhood years of sledding, football games, and Easter egg hunts were lovingly captured on reel-to-reel film, footage the family would later watch not only forward, but famously in reverse, delighting in the small absurdities and joys of ordinary life unfolding backward.

Family life revolved around home-cooked meals and boisterous holidays, when the three siblings, their spouses, and eventually seven grandchildren somehow fit into that same two-bedroom house filled with laughter, conversation, and the comforting chaos of togetherness.

Chris attended Western Illinois University, where he studied business and met and married Dianeah Wanicek (now Pryor). Together they had four children and eventually followed work opportunities to Dayton, Ohio where they built the foundation of their family and raised their children. Though they later divorced, they remained good friends, bonded always by shared history and love for their children and grandchildren.

Chris was a fiercely loving and devoted father to his four children: Jennifer Harrah (James), Aimee Maruyama (Benji), Molly Lunde (Lee), and Christopher Lunde (Carron). He was immensely proud of each of them and was a constant source of encouragement, curiosity, humor, and unconditional support. He embraced fatherhood with the same intensity and joy he brought to all pursuits, coaching soccer teams, cheering from the sidelines, and enthusiastically “helping” with science fair projects.

He was also a deeply cherished grandfather to nine grandchildren: Edwin Harrah; Kai and Amélie Maruyama; Lily and Gabriella Kibblewhite; Jasper and Opal Caslund; and Fergus and Ezra Lunde. His love for them and pride in them was immense and unmistakable. He delighted in their personalities, accomplishments, and adventures, and each of them knew themselves to be deeply loved by him.

Carrying on a family tradition of working with his hands, Chris spent his professional life in home renovation as both a contractor and salesperson. He especially enjoyed the design side of the work, bringing creativity and vision to every project. He had a lifelong love of cooking, particularly when it involved finding a great deal on a good cut of meat, and he was equally passionate about cars, steadfastly defending his fondness for notoriously unreliable ones by joking that he was “pretty, not smart.”

Chris found deep satisfaction in building and repairing things himself: constructing a giant toboggan sled run, building furniture, and fixing whatever needed fixing with his own brand of MacGyveresque ingenuity. He was also a devoted dog lover, especially fond of Dakota and his tiny Pekingese, Rocky, who was his constant companion during the last decade of his life.

Above all, Chris was a strong and quiet fighter. He faced years of serious health challenges and setbacks with remarkable determination and will, enduring far more than many of his doctors believed possible. Through it all, he remained stubbornly hopeful, deeply loving, and fully himself.

He leaves behind a family bound by stories, laughter, resilience, and the enduring mark of his love — a legacy as real and lasting as the films that captured him as a child roaring down the snow hill.

A memorial gathering celebrating Chris’s life will be held in Yellow Springs, Ohio, on August 29, 2026. Arrangements entrusted to the Jackson Lytle and Lewis Funeral Home, Yellow Springs. Online condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting www.jacksonlytle.com.