LANSING — Two days after Peter Luea was struck by a vehicle and killed while jogging along a Kent County road, friends and co-workers were trying to process the loss of the long-time family doctor who a colleague described as “one of those really good, genuine human beings.”
“It’s definitely hitting us all hard here,” said Dr. Brad Ropp, chief medical officer for McLaren Medical Group. “It’s a big loss for us. You know, you see someone who does so much good in the community, so much good out there, and they are just here one minute and gone the next. It’s hard, sometimes, to digest it.”
Ropp said he had known Luea for well over two decades. He described the late doctor as “a man of faith” who was entirely devoted to his large family.
“His patients absolutely adored him,” Ropp said.
Luea, 53, of Dimondale, was a physician at McLaren Greater Lansing Family Medicine North clinic, McLaren said. He worked in a McLaren office building on Lake Lansing Road.
Police said Luea was jogging along Lincoln Lake Avenue NE, north of 16 Mile Road, in Spencer Township, northwest of Greenville, shortly after 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4 when he was struck by a pickup truck. Luea died at the scene, they said.
The driver of the pickup stayed at the scene and called 911, they said.
A devout Catholic, Luea was active in the Capital Homeschool Athletic Program and coached basketball and cross country, said Brian Killian, a Lansing-area chiropractor who also is active in CHAP and who shared patients with Luea.
“He was a man of really true character,” Killian said. “He was someone who really prayed about his practice and his family. He volunteered in a lot of different activities. He balanced his family life and his volunteer work and his medical practice in a good way that showed he had a true heart for everybody he came in contact with.
“I shared many patients with him, and every one of them thought he was just the epitome of a good medical doctor,” Killian said. “He cared a lot about his patients and about everyone else.”
Luea was in the Grand Rapids area for a “faith retreat weekend,” Killian said. It was entirely in his character to go out for a run when he had some down time, he said.
“He did it between games all the time,” Killian said.
Co-workers described Luea as a compassionate and caring man who was devoted to his family and his faith.
“Dr. Luea was a man of rare character who was an inspiration to those he worked with and those he cared for,” said Dr. Batool Mir, who worked with Luea. “His legacy lives on in his family, the countless people he guided, the patients he healed, and the community of grace and service he helped build.”
Jonese Saint Claire, an operations manager in the office where Luea worked, said it was “not uncommon” for Luea to stay long past working hours to make sure every need was taken care of.
“He was not only an exceptional physician, but a phenomenal human being, son, father, brother, and a true man of faith,” she said. “Dr. Luea embodied kindness, patience, compassion, and humility — always treating others with the same grace and respect he so naturally gave. His dedication to his patients was unmatched.”
Ropp said Luea had “a very busy panel” of at least 2,500 patients.
“He was easy-to-smile, happy-go-lucky, just a really nice human being, the glass is half-full, a guy you enjoyed talking with,” Ropp said.
Luea enjoyed fishing and was physically active, he said. He spent a lot of time with his family and was “very much a man of faith.”
“(His faith) was very important to him,” Ropp said.
This story was updated to add additional comment about Luea.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: McLaren doctor Peter Luea, killed while jogging, remembered as ‘man of faith’
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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