Paul Leroy Lucas
Paul Leroy Lucas
Paul
LeRoy Lucas, whom his mom called LeRoy but the rest of us called Luke, had
lived a lot when he died at age 80 on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at home in
Boise. And he had the stories to prove it.
Luke
was born on March 4, 1934 to Dorothy Gepford Lucas and Earle Lucas in Franklin,
Nebraska. He grew to love Harleys and old cars, Steve McQueen and Clint
Eastwood attitude, motocross races and Boise State football games. He loved
women, even the silent ones pinned up on his garage walls. He cherished his
weekly coffee with friends in Mountain Home and with “The Spooners” in Boise. And
he was always amazed at his grandkids. To paraphrase Grandpa Luke: “The talent
DNA skipped a generation [aka, his kids] and went straight to my grandkids.”
Luke
had a snarky sense of humor and was rarely concerned with being politically
correct. He had very cool penmanship, was a beautiful skier, and was equally
devoted to fixing and showing off his old cars. Noteworthy vanity plates
included SNOW JOB for this pearlized white 1956 Ford pickup and DVORCED. He
loved everything that stands for American freedom and took great pride in
teaching us all how to shoot guns. Dirty Harry type guns. He was amazed that
all of his music fit on one tiny thumb drive he could play in his
car. And for everything he was, there were some things he was not: a cook, a
philosopher or politician, for instance.
His
early career was spent traveling as an auditor for GE Credit while living with
his young family in Huntington Beach, California, and later joining the family
business, Gem State Sporting Goods & Loans, in Mountain Home, where he
was "king.” He was a proud and active member of the Rotary Club and proudly
served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict—where he’d not seen
much combat but did, for sure, memorize the name, rank, and serial number of
everyone in his 140+ man troop. (Little known fact, perhaps, he had a genius IQ.)
Though
married only twice, to Donna Warner and Barbara Duncan, Luke loved women, and
loved to remind us his wives were married 11 times between them. He had many
women in his life: including the three who raised him: his mother Dorothy (who
never stopped setting him straight), his grandmother Maude Gepford and his aunt
Juanita. He had three daughters, Lisa, Tabitha and Bobbie Jane, and, it all
started with his son Jim in his corner.
Luke loved his family, his
friends and he loved Idaho. Though born on the kitchen table in Franklin, Nebraska—weighing
in at 12 lbs—he’d lived in Idaho most of his life.
Paul LeRoy Lucas was preceded in
death by his youngest child, Bobbie Jane Lucas, who passed away in 1980 at age
11; his mother Dorothy Lambeth, stepfather James Robert “Bob” Lambeth, father
Earle Lucas and former wife Barbara Duncan.
Survivors include three children
and their families: James Gregory Lucas, wife Josephine and children William
Bradley and Jessica Lauren Lucas; daughter Lisa Lucas McBean, husband Calum and
children Abigail Jane and John “Jack” Lucas McBean; and daughter Tabitha
Abigail De La Torre, husband Timothy and
children Andie Jane and Sam Lucas De La Torre. From Washington, cousin Dorothy
Starr McCombs and her husband Bob and their children Shannon, Wendy and
Christopher; cousin Barbara Starr List. From Nebraska, half siblings Wayne
Lucas and Jean Hamik.
Funeral services will be held on
Wednesday, November 5, 2014 at 11:00am at Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel in
Boise. A committal service will immediately follow at the Idaho State Veterans
Cemetery with reception to follow.
Luke will be truly missed by
many. But the stories, we’re sure, will live on.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Paul Leroy Lucas, please visit our flower store.
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