In Clio Genesee County, Michigan, in the Thetford Township Cemetary, Michael Leroy “Pac Man” Luther slumbers for eternity beneath the marble likeness of an arcade game he loved so much.

Find a Grave listing

According to Jeff Smith of Lapeer, Michigan, an arcade aficionado who shared the photo with me and whose older brother was a childhood friend of the deceased, Pac Man Luther spent his life around arcade games.

As an amusement machine distributor in Michigan for over 30 years, this former US Air Force veteran of the Viet Nam War began his own coin op distribution operation in The late 70s just in time to ride the explosive fever that swept the nation during the height of the video craze. It was during this period that he discovered Pac-Man was the one game that appealed to him the most. In fact, he loved it so much that he became known locally as “Pac Man” sans the hyphen, and the name stuck for the rest of his life.

The headstone was designed by his sister, Lisa.