Managing Grief: Reflections with Lundborg Foundation's New Director

Writing this in 2026 has given me a new understanding of the word management. There has been a management of emotions as life shifts from grief, to surrender, to smiles, and back to grief again. I write this today because those who so diligently raised me are no longer here.

In 2021, I was traveling with my wife on a beach camping trip to Savannah, Georgia. I had left my phone in the car so it would not be ruined by sand and water. I walked back up to my old Nissan Xterra to grab something and felt a vibration in the center console. It was my dad. Although we were close, he rarely called.

I answered, “Hey Dad, is everything okay?”

He responded in a shaky voice, “No. Grandpa died.”

I had just been with my grandfather, Richard, the week before in Minneapolis, sharing Thai food over lunch. My clearest memory of that day is the television behind him with breaking news of the Afghanistan withdrawal bombing. Thirteen dead. I remember feeling anxious to get overseas to help, waiting for a tasking on the C-17 missions to document the withdrawal, feeling restless and distracted.

My grandfather passed suddenly and unexpectedly the following week after that lunch. I am deeply grateful for that final time together, especially since we usually only saw each other a few times a year after our moving to Georgia.

There are many things I wish I had asked him, knowing what I know now. But I suppose that is part of the journey. He laid the framework, and now it is our responsibility as a family to build upon it.

As the new executive director, my priorities are to open communication and share with the public the work we are supporting, stewarding this legacy with faithfulness and transparency.

My grandfather was always somewhat of a mysterious man to me. I did not even know about Lundborg Foundation until after his passing in 2021. He spent far more time asking questions than talking about himself, but when he did share, it was always with wisdom, humility, and a quiet sense of the extraordinary.

His stories were never framed as accomplishments, just simple moments in a life of service. I remember him casually returning from a trip to Indonesia, mentioning that he had been helping a fishing village acquire new boats, as if it were just another ordinary week for a 70 year-old-man.

As I reflect on Richard’s legacy, I am reminded that achievements on earth are temporary, but the choices we make and the lives we touch can echo into eternity.

My commitment is to steward this foundation in a Christ-honoring way, to support those in need, equip leaders, and proclaim the Kingdom at hand.

-Corban Lundborg, Executive Director