Tahlequah, OK – A Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Dr. C.L. “Chet” Lombardi, age 88, at 10:00 A.M. Friday, November 6, 2009 at St. Brigid Catholic Church in Tahlequah, OK, with Father Jeffery Polasek presiding. Interment will follow services at Fort Gibson National Cemetery in Fort Gibson, OK. A Rosary Service will be held for Dr. Lombardi at 7:00 PM Thursday, November 5, 2009 at St. Brigid Catholic Church. Services have been entrusted to the care of the Hart Funeral Home of Tahlequah.

Dr. C.L. “Chet” Lombardi was born April 4, 1921 in Canasota, New York the son of Fillipo Lombardi and Rosita Vignoli-Lombardi. Drafted into the army in July, 1942, Lombardi received his basic training at Camp Gruber in Braggs, Oklahoma. He was a member of Company “F” 349th Infantry Regiment of the 88th Infantry Blue Devil Division. From Gruber Lombardi was sent to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where his fiancée, Norma Pitchford, joined and married him at the army base chapel on October 23, 1943, seven weeks before he was deployed to North Africa on December 17, 1943. After three weeks in Africa, Lombardi was shipped to Casino, Italy, near Naples, from which Company “F” began its two-year campaign marching from southern Italy to the northern Brenner Pass. Though Lombardi received many commendations for bravery, the Bronze Star and the Silver Star included, he was the only man in his original company to never receive the Purple Heart. In a newspaper interview published in 1944, when asked how he managed to escape injury, Lombardi replied, “It seems every time I leave my cover to aid someone, a shell lands where I would have been. Wounded people appreciate so much the little comforts you can give them.”

Honorably discharged from the army on 11 November 1945, at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, Lombardi used the GI Bill to pursue his education. Though he had dropped out of high school in 9th grade, he obtained his GED then continued at Connors State College, attaining his associate’s degree in 1948. In 1950 he received his bachelor’s degree in history and industrial arts education from NSU, followed by a Master of Science degree from the University of Tennessee in 1953. Lombardi completed his formal education with a Doctorate of Education degree in 1965 from Tulsa University.

Dr. Lombardi taught industrial arts to Warner high school students at Connors State College from 1950 to 1951, where he began the custom of telling his war stories to students as a reward for completing their assignments. In the fall of 1951, Dr. Lombardi became the 50th faculty member hired at NSU, as well as the first faculty member of the Catholic faith. For 33 years at NSU, Dr. Lombardi pursued his passion for teaching and as sponsor of the Industrial Arts Club contributed to the club’s respected tradition of winning first place in the float division during homecoming festivities. Known to his students as “No hard feelings Doc,” because this is what he always said to students who were failing, Lombardi never missed an opportunity to garner hunting rights to his students’ home farm lands, where often, after a day’s hunt, he would share a meal with their family.

Dr. Lombardi departed this life on Saturday, October 31, 2009 at the age of 88 years. Dr. Lombardi was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Norma Faye Pitchford Lombardi in 1970; his second wife, Betty Ritch Lombardi in 2003; two brothers, Virgil Lombardi and Peter Lombardi and by one sister, Euphrasia Emmi.

Survivors include, one son, Philip Lombardi of Owasso; two daughters, Lori Walker of Tahlequah and Rosemary Roberts of Lake Mary, FL; two sisters, Mary O’Malley of Manchester, NH and Eva Denova of Oneida, NY; nine grandchildren, Brennan Lombardi, Megan Lombardi, Matthew Walker, Andrew Walker, John Walker, Jennifer Roberts, Jessica Liberatori, Anna Vrhovac and Bryan Roberts; nine great grandchildren; as well as numerous other relatives and friends.