Hank Lujan never slowed down, from the time he was a teenager when he regularly herded and milked 300 goats, until his days as a teacher, principal and school superintendent.
Lujan, who spent 38 years teaching and guiding students, parents and staffers at several Colorado schools, died Nov. 21 at a care center in Tucson. He was 78.
A service is planned at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Golden.
Lujan and his seven brothers and sisters were about to be placed in orphanages after their father died and their mother was ill. But Lujan, then 10, ran away to the town of Aguilar in southern Colorado, where he asked a family to let him live there for a year, said his daughter Renee Lujan of Colorado Springs.
For the next seven summers, he worked on the Dardanes Ranch herding goats and cattle. He started teaching in Trinidad.
“He always believed students, parents and staff could do better,” said a former colleague, John Vidal of Littleton.
Lujan believed that if kids weren’t doing well at school, some of the blame belonged to parents and he’d talk to them to help them become better, more involved parents, Vidal said.
“Hank was a continual father, like a dad to everyone,” Vidal said.
But he could be tough “and didn’t allow any messing around,” said his daughter Maria Bain of Tucson.
Carl Roberts, who once served under Lujan, praised Lujan for giving him “enough rein to grow” or letting Roberts “learn the hard way.
Henry Manuel Lujan was born June 26, 1932, in Brodhead, about 4 miles from Aguilar.
After graduating from high school, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Northern Colorado. He interrupted college to serve in the Marines for two years. He taught chemical-, atomic- and biological warfare defense to other Marines. He earned a master’s degree in chemistry at Colorado College.
Lujan married Anita Vasquez in 1957. She died in 1989.
He married Joan Cuerdean in 1995, and she died in 2003.
He taught in Trinidad and Colorado Springs and was an assistant principal at schools in Colorado Springs, Jefferson County and Golden.
After retiring the first time, in 1994, Lujan moved to Tucson, where he taught for a while before retiring again.
After that retirement, he painted landscapes, and his wife made pottery. They had a shop, Galeria de Lujan, where they sold their works.
In addition to his daughters, Lujan is survived by his son, Jaime Lujan of Louisville; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two sons.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
Other Deaths
Irvin Kershner, 87, who directed the “Star Wars” sequel “The Empire Strikes Back” and the James Bond film “Never Say Never Again,” has died at age 87.
Kershner died Saturday at his Los Angeles home after a 3 1/2-year battle with lung cancer, said longtime friend and Hollywood publicist Dick Guttman.
Kershner already had made a number of well-received movies when he was hired by George Lucas to direct “Empire.” The 1980 film was a darker story than the original. In it, hero Luke Skywalker loses a hand and learns that villain Darth Vader is his father. The movie at first got mixed reviews but has gone on to be one of the most critically praised.
Kershner told Vanity Fair in October that he tried to give the sequel more depth than the original.
“When I finally accepted the assignment, I knew that it was going to be a dark film, with more depth to the characters than in the first film,” he said. “It took a few years for the critics to catch up with the film and to see it as a fairy tale rather than a comic book.”
Lucas said in a statement: “The world has lost a great director and one of the most genuine people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.” He added that he considered Kersh ner to be a mentor.
The Philadelphia-born Kershner also directed a number of noted features in the 1960s and 1970s, including “A Fine Madness” with Sean Connery, Joanne Woodward and Jean Seberg; “The Flim-Flam Man” with George C. Scott; and “Loving” with George Segal and Eva Marie Saint. The Associated Press
