Contact Us | office@molnarfuneralhome.com
Connect with us online | 
Obituary of Alphonse S. Lucarelli
April 22, 1940 – May 14, 2023
Alphonse S. Lucarelli. Age 83 of Grosse Ile.
Al, age 83, passed away on May 14th, 2023. Beloved partner of Waltraud (Wally) Prechter, loving father of Alphonse II (Sonya), grandson Steffan and son Francesco (Kerri), grandsons Leonardo and Andrea. He also valued his close relationships with Stephanie Prechter, Paul and Paige Prechter and their daughters Annika, Savana and Juliana.
Al, a proud first-generation Italian American from simple roots, was born in the small paper mill town of Livermore Falls, Maine on April 22,1940. He began working from age ten to fourteen to begin saving for college by selling the Lewiston Evening Journal for five cents, six days a week on a street corner, summer and winter. A good week, including tips, could be five to eight dollars. Al worked an average of thirty-five hours a week during his entire high school years as an underage manager at a bowling alley, which also required keeping the machines operating, being a short order cook, soda fountain operator and janitor. He was senior class president and even with his work schedule was salutatorian of his graduating class.
Al served in the United States Air Force, primarily in Japan and the Far East in the early 1960’s. He came to Detroit in 1989 as the Managing Partner of Ernst & Young, LLP following the merger of Arthur Young & Company and Ernst & Whinney. Following his graduation from Bryant University, magna cum laude, he began his career in 1966 in Boston with Arthur Young and also worked in its Providence, New York, Tampa (Managing Partner) and Atlanta (Managing Partner) offices, prior to arriving in Detroit. Al never forgot where he came from, and this influenced his behavior throughout his entire life. He was actively involved in every city where he lived and worked. In a 1989 Detroit Free Press profile on Al shortly after his arrival in Detroit, he was quoted as saying… “ It’s very easy just to take out of a community, I believe you should give something back”. Within months, he and his dear late wife Maria, who passed away on April 22, 2001, became involved in various cultural, civic and philanthropic organizations. He retired from Ernst & Young in 1998 but maintained his residence in Michigan.
During his time in Detroit, Al served on the boards and executive committees of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, the St. John Health System (board chair), the College for Creative Studies, United Way of Southeast Michigan, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and CATCH (Caring Athletes Team for Children’s and Henry Ford Hospitals). He was a co-founder and first chairman of the Detroit Regional Partnership, a public-private entity formed by the Detroit Regional Chamber to attract international investment and business to southeastern Michigan. Al led the campaign to raise $12 million dollars from businesses and governments to fund the first three years’ operating budgets. He also served on the boards of the Detroit Opera (formerly Michigan Opera Theatre), the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs (appointed by Governor Engler), the St. John’s Foundation, the Thanksgiving Day Parade Foundation, the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition and a trustee of the Citizen’s Research Council of Michigan and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, among several others. Al was an active volunteer fundraiser for many of these organizations, either participating in or chairing campaigns that raised tens of millions of dollars.
In 2006, he was included in Crain’s Detroit Business’s 50 Most Connected People in Detroit. During his 30 plus years in Detroit, Al was a member of the Detroit Athletic Club, the Grosse Point Yacht Club, the Country Club of Detroit, the Renaissance Club (board chair) and the Detroit Club.
There will not be any visitation or services. “My father, with his usual unique brand of humor, said that he had attended so many funerals during his lifetime, he did not want to impinge on anyone’s day” ... said his son Al II.
Contributions can be made to the following:
Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Endowment Fund at the University of Michigan
https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/prechter-program/how-you-can-help
Detroit Opera
https://detroitopera.org/support/ways-to-give/
Ascension St. John Providence Foundations
https://stjohnprovfoundations.org/ways-to-give/donate-online
College for Creative Studies
https://www.collegeforcreativestudies.edu/donate/
St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, St. Clair Shores (where there is a memorial for Maria)
https://www.osvhub.com/sjascs/giving/funds
Detroit Institute of Arts
https://dia.org/support/donate
United Way of Southeast Michigan
https://donate.unitedwaysem.org/donate?slca=0000097
Cremation will take place at The On-Site Crematory, located within Molnar Funeral Homes - Brownstown Chapel.
Driven by a passion to serve families, our team is comprised of compassionate and dedicated people who are always willing to go above and beyond to support each family during a difficult time.
Our caring and professional staff will also go to great lengths to assist your family in creating a personalized and unique service for your loved one.
At Molnar Funeral Homes we offer four different locations from which families can choose.
Our History
John Molnar, Sr. opened the Detroit Hungarian Funeral Home, now the Molnar Funeral Homes, in 1923. The funeral home began in his home until relocating across the street to it's Delray location at 8623 Dearborn Avenue, in 1936. He had a strong work ethic and believed that you should never stop learning...
