Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Vernon S. Lunt passed away at Backus Hospital in Norwich, Conn., April 1, 2020. He was born in Bar Harbor, Maine on Nov. 20, 1930, the son of the late Vernon Somes Lunt and Beatrice Rucker Lunt. He was also predeceased by his brother, Neil R. Lunt. He is survived by his wife, Elaine Levering Lunt, and his seven children: Elizabeth A. Lunt, Vernon S. Lunt (Betsy), Melissa L. Carbonella (Steve), Cynthia J. Burzynski (Mark), Timothy W. Lunt (Laurie Lewis), William S. Lunt (Sachiko) and Kimberly H. Dugas (Michael). He is also survived by three nieces, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
After attending Bar Harbor High School and Maine Maritime Academy, he commenced a seagoing career serving in six surface ships and six submarines, serving as navigator, engineer, weapons systems officer, executive officer and commanding officer. His final sea assignment was as chief of staff for Plans and Operations Submarine Force Eastern Atlantic, headquartered at Portsmouth, England.
By far, his most enjoyable and memorable sea assignment was having command of the submarine USS Becuna (SS/AGSS-319). One special deployment included a visit to his home town of Bar Harbor, where Becuna was asked to start the Fourth of July festivities by shooting a submarine flare high into the sky.
After serving 26 years in the Navy, Capt. Lunt and his family moved to Mount Desert Island, Maine, where they established their homes in Southwest Harbor and Bar Harbor. During this time, he studied at Husson College, earning his MBA, prior to co-owning and operating Gilley-Lunt Marine at The Boathouse in Manset, Maine.
He was a 32-degree Mason and Past Master of the Mount Desert Masonic Lodge 140, and a Royal Arch Mason, Washington Chapter Number 10, in Machias, Maine. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite Body Anah Temple in Bangor, Maine.
He was a member of the Retired Officers Association, Navy League, Naval Institute, National Geographic Society and the Navy Submarine League.
Vernon enjoyed spending time outdoors, walking the trails of Acadia National Park, as well as gardening, sailing, playing golf and tennis. He especially enjoyed spending time with his family at their cottage on his beloved Clark’s Cove and Western Way in Town Hill, Bar Harbor, Maine, where he fished, dug for clams, bird-watched and enjoyed the serenity and beauty of the Maine coastline.
Vernon was an avid reader; therefore, in lieu of flowers, donations to the Jesup Memorial Library, Bar Harbor, Maine would be greatly appreciated.
His funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date, with burial anticipated at Arlington National Cemetery.
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