Walter G. Lunt Collection

Walter Gibson Lunt was born in Cedar City, Iron County, Utah, on 7 January 1891. He was the son of Randle Wilson Lunt and Catherine Jeanette Gibson, of Cedar City, and grandson of Henry Lunt, an Iron Mission pioneer and founder of Cedar City. He married Aleen Dalton on 17 April 1917 in Beaver, Utah. After Aleen died 3 May 1922, he married Lillian Wight on 27 June 1929.

Walter Lunt attended the Branch Normal School in Cedar City where he took part in plays and musical productions, including oratorios and operas. He had a fine voice and was advised to continue his education and study opera. He attended the University of Utah in the summer of 1914 and received his teaching certificate, but he chose to become a drummer (salesman) for Ottenheimer Clothing. After the death of his first wife, he joined the San Francisco Light Opera (Brandon) Company to fulfil his ambition to sing. He traveled through Canada and New England, then joined the Shubert Opera Company in New York City.

He returned to Cedar City in 1928 and married Lillian Wight, who was teaching home economics at the Branch Agricultural College (formerly the BNS), on 27 June 1929. They owned and operated Lunts Hotel and Cafe until 1951. Walter Lunt also sold cars and real estate and operated a Maverik gas station. He continued to participate in local drama productions including the Zion Easter Pageant (1937-41), BAC plays, and the first two seasons of the Utah Shakespearean Festival. He sang for twenty years with the Cedar City Master Singers.

He died at Cedar City on 24 October 1977. (Information from autobiography in "Our Forty Years.")