Well over a hundred people attended the memorial service Saturday in the John Wright Theatre to remember Fresno State gallery technicianEdward Lund.
Lund, 54, died Oct. 3 in a bicycle accident during the Levi’s GranFondo charity bike race in Sonoma County. He was 54.
Clovis Mayor Nathan Magsig, a longtime friend of Lund, who organized the memorial service, said he is deeply saddened by the death of his friend, but is thankful for all the memories they got to share together, especially when battling each other in road cycling.
“I had the pleasure of racing with Edward on the same team and over the course of two years,” he said. “We got to do many team rides together and race together and even do the Climb to Kaiser together. So over that period of time I got to know Edward and through the years since then I have had the opportunity to spend time on rides with him and seeing him around town and enjoying just his wisdom and guidance and true ability to not only fix bikes, but also to provide guidance on life in general.”
The trait Magsig remembers most about Lund was his passion for learning and trying out new things.
“He was a man of many talents, a man who was an incredible artist and incredible dancer and an incredible bike racer,” Magsig said. “Ultimately he lived life to the fullest and cherished the great moments that he had.”
Selena Mitchell, Lund’s significant other, said he was an intelligent and talented individual who loved helping others and was deeply passionate about making the world a better place for everyone.
“He was a very kind and considerate and very loving and affectionate person, who every single day managed to make me feel like the most precious and beautiful creature in the world,” Mitchell said. “I miss him a lot.”
Elizabeth Fralicks, an English learner coordinator at Fresno Unified School District, knew Lund for over a decade and always saw him as a Renaissance man who excelled in whatever hobby interested him.
“He was very good at everything that he did, but he did it without being pretentious, which is rare because many people who are good at a lot of things have a lot of pride about it,” Fralicks said. “He liked to help a lot of people and I’m sorry that he is gone so early, it is very hard to understand.”
Vanessa Addison-Williams, an adjunct faculty member in the Art and Design Department, had Lund as a professor as an undergraduate student and got to know him more while they were colleagues. She said she will always remember Lund as a very sweet and kindhearted person.
“Every time I would see him he would always be busy, but he would always stop and talk for as long as you wanted his attention and he didn’t make you feel like he was in a hurry,” Addison-Williams said. “Some people will try and get away from you, but he never did that, he would take a moment of his time and he would stop and talk to you.”
Addison-Williams added that Lund loved challenges and would always go out of his way to help students and other faculty members with “anything and everything.”
“I told him I was going to install some artwork for Black History Month at Clovis North [high school] and that this was the first time they were doing this in the library,” she said. “I asked him if he had any tips for me and he was like, ‘Just let me know when.’ So I told him when and he did everything. He made it to where you didn’t want to take it down.”
A number of other people at the memorial had the chance to say a few words about Lund including Bob Koligian and Lund’s niece and stepdaughter.
Koligian reminded everyone that Lund lived his life in accordance with his favorite quote: “Live life in moments, not minutes.”
Following the memorial service, a majority of the attendees went to the Phebe Conley Art Gallery where Lund’s bicycles, artwork and pictures of him with his family and friends were on display.
Mitchell said she and others tried to put up a good representation of the things that were important to Lund and the people he loved.
“He was this plus so much more,” Mitchell said. “He lived a really rich and very full life and I think we at least tried to capture it.”
The exhibition will stay open until Oct. 24.
