Russ Lunt, photographed in 2016 when he was featured as one of the Press Herald’s Mainers To Be Thankful For. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Russ Lunt was such a frequent presence at South Portland City Council meetings that he was often called the “8th councilor.” Perhaps an even more fitting name would have been Mr. South Portland.
A lifelong resident who said he knew every inch of the city, Lunt spent his career taking care of his hometown and his retirement as its biggest cheerleader. Determined to always see the positive, his friends and family say, the jolly guy with a sunny smile forged friendly connections with people he met in South Portland and far beyond its borders through the photos he shared on Facebook.
Lunt died June 23 after a brief illness. He was 66.
“I don’t think anyone in South Portland loved it more than Russ,” said City Councilor Linda Cohen, who first met Lunt when she moved onto his snowplow route in 1989.
Lunt grew up in South Portland, the second of four children born to Kenneth Lunt Jr. and Elizabeth Ann Lunt. He studied in the automotive program at Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute, then worked for 34 years at South Portland Public Works.
As a plow truck driver, Lunt was known for being meticulous and doing what he could to avoid plowing driveways back in as people were shoveling them out, Cohen said. People along his route would run out to give him snacks – a woman once brought him a sleeve of Ritz crackers because that’s all she had – and one time someone used food coloring to write a message in a snowbank saying they loved him.
“You couldn’t help but love him,” said Sherre Maynard, Lunt’s partner of 35 years.
Maynard said she first met Lunt when she was on strike from her job as a New England Telephone operator in 1989 and picked up a job mowing lawns for the parks department. When she brought her mower to the public works garage to fill up, a friendly guy carrying a monkey wrench and flexing his muscles walked up to her.
When Maynard told him she was going to mow a stretch of grass near Southern Maine Community College, he told her it was “a waste of taxpayer money.” Offended, she later told her coworkers about the exchange – and they told her he was joking.
“They just laughed and laughed. They knew right away that it was Russ,” she said. A few days later, Lunt asked her out and they had been together ever since.
“He is the most loving and caring person I’ve ever known in my life,” Maynard said. “My God, you couldn’t ask for a better person than Russ. I’m so glad I met him that day. I’m so grateful for the years we had together.”
Lunt loved NASCAR – he went to races in Louden, New Hampshire, for many years – and spending time with his family. Maynard said he was “so very, very proud” of his only son, Russell Lunt Jr., and for years spent every Saturday night visiting with his mother. He and Maynard always mowed their lawn together, him on a riding mower and her using the push one.
‘HE KEPT POLITICS HONEST’
After he retired, Lunt started attending City Council meetings in 2012 and was quickly hooked. At every meeting, he’d step to the podium – sometimes several times – and say “Russ Lunt, Brigham Street,” even though everyone in the room knew exactly who he was. He’d flip through the small notebook he carried, then deliver a positive update about something happening in the city or a thoughtful opinion about the topics being discussed by the council.
“I like to keep people informed and I like to keep things positive,” Lunt said in 2016 when he was featured by the Portland Press Herald as a Mainer to Be Thankful For. “It’s just a knack I have. I’m not a negative person. I try to see the good in everything.”
When Lunt got up to speak, Councilor Richard Matthews would jokingly give him a hard time.
As “South Portland boys,” they had known each other forever, Matthews said. For years, they’d meet up every Saturday morning to have coffee, play a scratch ticket and talk. Without fail, Lunt wanted to discuss politics. Lunt always knew what was going on with the council and around the city and was eager to share that information with people he talked to around the city or on Facebook, Matthews said.
“He helped the public understand what was actually going on,” he said. “It was great to have somebody like Russ there because he kept politics honest.”
Matthews said he hopes people understand how truly dedicated Lunt was to South Portland and the people who live there.
“I always busted Russ’ butt, but I’d give anything to have him back here to give me 30 minutes of speeches every Tuesday night,” he said.
City Manager Scott Morelli described Lunt as a mainstay at council meetings. On Tuesday, the council held a moment of silence for him and put flowers on his usual seat.
“Russ was always positive and complementary of city staff, and reminded us that despite the negativity that can bog us all down, there is more good than bad in the world,” he said in a Facebook tribute to Lunt, adding that “South Portland is a little darker tonight without your presence.”
‘HE TOUCHED A LOT OF LIVES’
In recent years, Lunt had become well known in his community and far beyond for the photos he took on his iPhone and posted on Facebook. He loved sharing beautiful sunrises and images of pretty spots around South Portland. He enjoyed photographing Portland Head Light and Fort Williams, especially during storms.
During one winter storm, he found himself unable to get his little Honda Accord up the hill to leave Fort Williams and had to call for help from Cape Elizabeth Public Works, Maynard said. The crew that came to sand the road so he could get out “never let him live it down,” she said.
When the iconic fishing shacks at Willard Beach washed away during a January storm, Lunt was there with his boots on, wading into the water to get the best shot, despite a recent bout of pneumonia.
Maynard said Lunt loved how much people enjoyed his photos. People from across the country and Europe would send him messages thanking him for giving them a little piece of home, she said.
“It made them feel so much closer to home even when they were thousands of miles away,” she said. “He touched a lot of lives.”
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