Lorenzo Roberto Lunceford's Obituary
A Living Remembrance
Lorenzo Roberto Lunceford
Just One More Set...
August 27, 2022
Lorenzo Roberto lived a good life in his short 25 years. He was a good young man who learned to always give his best and no one could ask for more. He was a person of solid character and that developed from a strong familial foundation. Because of his strong upbringing filled with love and faith, Lorenzo became the man he was, strong in character and generous in spirit.
Lorenzo has had an incredible relationship with his family. He’s always known to be sweet, kind and genuinely interested in what his cousins were up to and their wellbeing. Lorenzo for the most part was raised and nurtured by the women of the family and for this reason, he really has known how to be loving, nurturing and patient with others and has had a beautiful sense of how to be gentle and kind with others-especially women. Family meant everything to Lorenzo. Our big, Mexican parties were his favorite events. Mariachi, tequila, homemade tamales and desserts. He just beamed with joy when we were all together celebrating.
One of Lorenzo’s best friends, Jermaine Casteneda, referred to Lorenzo as his “big, little brother”. If you have ever seen the two of them side by side, you’ll know why he called him that. Jermaine had this to say about Lorenzo:
A beautiful soul. A rarity in this world of smoke and mirrors. He was there for you no matter what, displaying true strength of vulnerability and humility as a friend. As a brother.
Lorenzo showed his love for his family and friends by showing up and being present in our day to day lives. Lorenzo always took the time to ask us how we were doing or what we had planned for the day or ask us if we wanted some of his food (except for his In-and Out-he didn’t really offer that). He was genuine with his love and concern. He took the time to look in your eyes, give a hug and a kiss and be in your space. Saying, “I feel you”, was a very authentic phrase of Lorenzo’s. On top of all that, he gave us great training and nutritional advice for free!
As a son, Lorenzo respected me and our relationship. I never had to yell or punish him really because we communicated so well. If he had consequences for some reason, he accepted them and learned from the experience. I'm not saying he was perfect. What I am saying is that he respected and honored the work that my parents, his parents and his tia had to do every day to “make things happen”. For that reason, he thought twice before he made decisions. Lorenzo has always been a good thinker using both his brain and his heart. No one could ask for a better son.
Lorenzo’s aunt Gigi had this to say about her godson:
I was blessed to have you as a nephew in my life for 25 years. You and I had such a special bond. After uncle Matt died, you and Ari filled a void in my heart. I am so fortunate to have helped you get through your illness; I saw such fight and determination in you to get back to the Lorenzo you remembered. God knows you were making it back-you fought until the very end. But I know that God had better plans for you! I find comfort Lorenzo knowing that you are with nana, grandpa and uncle Matt-pain free in Heaven! “You are a legend and a nephew that will never be forgotten!” See you on the other side. Love aunt Gigi
As a brother, Lorenzo has been fiercely loyal to his sister Arianna not to mention very protective of her. Those two were tight as young kids; Arianna always included him in the play dates she was invited to. He was usually the only boy in the group, but he didn’t seem to mind because she wanted him there and he loved being with his big sister. He was very considerate of Arianna’s feelings and especially when she had a difficult time in her middle school years. They were always cool to go to the mall together and to a movie downtown followed by ice cream at Ghirardelli on 5th Ave. And no matter what, there were three times of the year they would plan for with excitement; the first was planning and preparing an incredible meal for mom on Mother’s Day. The second, the Saturday before Christmas- they were at the table for the tamalada-wrapping tamales with all the mujeres. And then again, Christmas morning-early. Opening gifts with the fam and the dogs. Of course, there were times when Lorenzo would be annoyed with Arianna and call her out if she wasn’t present to do a family outing/task like clean the garage or go to early mass; “Well, why doesn’t Arianna have to help”? Or, “Why doesn’t Arianna have to come with us”? Ah, brotherly love!
It has been a joy watching Lorenzo navigate through life-making his way in this world. A solid foundation made him who is today leaving us with such an impressionable memory. He was serious with his goals, but was very happy with the simple pleasures of being a young boy and eventually a young man.
Spending time with his boys- hanging out for sleepovers and playing video games with Caine, Luis and Ricky made him happy. He cruised around in the mini-van with Edmund and Mrs. Rull during the summers and he enjoyed hanging out at the Rull’s. Lorenzo loved going to Mr. Paintball and shooting airsoft guns with Tyler; when they weren’t shooting guns, they were at the house tricking them out or buying amo and gear. He loved playing his guitars and his weekly lessons with Mr. Fleming and Kev meant a lot to him. Of course, team sports like soccer, flag football and rugby with his crew filled his school years with laughter and bonding time with his teammates. It should be known to all that Lorenzo and Luis met in second grade and were inseparable after that first meeting; true bff-his ride or die. No doubt Lorenzo is keeping Luis in check from heaven.
Without a doubt, Lorenzo loved his home life. His days were filled with the richness of family dinners, road trips, carne asada at nana’s and grandpa’s, family projects, baking bread, birthday parties, and just chilling at home with his dogs-Samson and Dulce. He and Arianna celebrated their birthday parties together for many years up until middle school and then again as young adults.
As Lorenzo became older (13 years of age), he was introduced to body building and Stern’s Gym became his “happy place”. Pumping iron got into his blood and he never looked back. He lifted weights until his last day here. Lorenzo’s other love was nature. He loved to hike, body surf, snorkel and experience any type of nature he could. He loved camping at Big Sur and exploring nature in the Philippines with his dad. One of his highlights of 2019 was a trip to the island of Bohol to hang with his dad. He came back so happy with the experiences he’d had there and left behind many friends who he kept in touch with after returning and throughout his illness and recovery.
He took body building seriously at a young age. Lorenzo was part of two professional body building organizations: INBF and WNBF-World Natural Bodybuilding Federation. He was very proud to be “steroid free” when he competed.
Lorenzo was super proud to be a certificated personal trainer. He worked his way from teaching groups at a private gym to building a small personal training business here in San Diego. He was always working toward improving his business, skill set and technique as a personal trainer.
As a young adult, Lorenzo still loved to have fun and enjoyed many of the same activities he did as a kid, but with an adult twist. He loved chilling with friends, going to a good party, shopping at Las Americas, cooking, baking, going out to lunch or dinner with family and friends. And of course, going to the gym. He earned a living training people and he loved to train himself in his spare time. He started competing in his first physique show at the age of 17. This was so enjoyable for him. He competed in the men’s physique for a total of five competitions in his young life and he dreamed to get up on stage again.
We are all better people for having known this young man-Lorenzo. He has left us with so much joy, laughter and knowledge of weight training. Not to mention, just impacting us with an example of how we treat others. The Lord was so generous with Lorenzo and he shared all of his gifts with us.
This young man was as kind as they come. He had such a generous heart and was so, so sensitive to others who were hurting or being treated unfairly. Lorenzo participated in the local marches for Black Lives Matter and advocated for LGTBQ rights-equality for his friends meant everything to him and he was willing to march for these causes.
Lorenzo’s perseverance for his life's passions is what should be remembered; he wasn’t a complacent person. Once he figured out what he wanted to do in life... he wanted to be an investor, he wanted to be a professional body builder, he wanted to have a thriving personal training business- he went for it! He persevered throughout his entire illness and rehabilitation process. No one worked harder than Lorenzo at getting his life back.
Initially, most people noticed his physical stature and figured he’d be a jerk-but that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. He was not only a gentle giant, but a sweet, sweet soul that would reach out to help anyone in need. People were attracted to his sincere demeanor and his lovely smile and eyes.
Lorenzo taught me to be fearless and persistent with my goals. He taught me this by example. Throughout all stages of his illness and recovery, Lorenzo never, ever held back. Whether at the gym, while hiking or going out into the town: to the mall, to Balboa Park, the Embarcadero, or to the market. Knowing that a seizure could have happened at any moment (because they were so unpredictable), he just said, “let’s do it!” He taught me to not fear the seizures, but rather to seize the moments of life we were in. This young man, my child, taught me to keep moving forward with life’s goals. He taught me to continually say, “I love you so much-thanks for all you do for me!”
For those who knew Lorenzo intimately, they knew that Saving Private Ryan had been one of his favorite movies since about 6th grade; my son was obsessed with WWII. With this detail in mind, Lorenzo will leave you with this:
At the Normandy Cemetery, where James Ryan as an old man breaks down crying, sets the tone for the entire story of the film, before switching back to him at the end.
At the site, Ryan addresses the grave of Captain Miller with this quote, vowing to remember what he told him on the bridge that fateful day in Ramelle. When his wife approached, he begged her, "Tell me I'm a good man" to which his wife immediately replied, "You are." To see that Ryan truly lived his life according to Miller's last words is both heartbreaking and inspirational. Ryan’s last words to Captain Miller were:
“Every Day I Think About What You Said To Me That Day On The Bridge, And I've Tried To Live My Life The Best I Could. I Hope That Was Enough.”
Our dear Lorenzo, you have been a good man who has lived his best life and that was enough. Por siempre Lorencito. Nos encontraremos en el otro lado mijo!
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