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Soldier remembered as Christian man

Army Sgt. Bryan Luckey, who aspired to be a minister, died in Iraq June 29.

By JUSTIN GEORGE
Published July 11, 2006

	[Times photos: Melissa Lyttle]
	National Guard Honors Team members carry the flag-draped casket of Army Sgt. Bryan Christian Luckey to the hearse following a funeral service at West Gate Baptist Church in his honor Tuesday morning.
	Nearly five months pregnant, Catherine Luckey found out that she is having a baby boy the day after she got word that her husband was killed in Iraq. She said she is naming the baby Bryan Christian Luckey, in honor of her husband.
	[Times photo: Brian Cassella]
	From left, Luckey's brother Matthew Luckey, parents Patrick and Paula Luckey, and his wife Catherine Luckey.

TAMPA — Pastors and friends honored Army Sgt. Bryan Luckey’s life Tuesday, calling him a Christian man of integrity whose mission was to spread the gospel to everyone he met.

About 300 people attended Luckey’s funeral at West Gate Baptist Church, where about 75 members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a patriotic motorcycle group of mostly veterans, held American flags outside. Luckey, 25, died June 29 in Iraq. "Bryan was dependable, a man of character, faithful, always the same,"  said the Rev. Daniel Wade, Luckey’s childhood pastor.

During the service, Luckey, who aspired to be a minister, was described as asking friends to pray that his unit would be saved by Christ. Onward Christian Soldiers was sung, and Army brass handed several medals to his pregnant wife, Catherine.

Following the service, Luckey’s body was buried at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.

[Last modified July 11, 2006, 13:52:37]