Gerald Franklin Lucas

Gerald Franklin Lucas, 88, of Great Bend, Kansas, passed away Thursday, January 7, 2021, at Vintage Park of Ottawa, Kansas. A celebration of life and inurnment will be held later at Great Bend Cemetery, Great Bend, Kansas. Gerald was born January 6, 1933, at Seminole, Oklahoma, the son of Basil Franklin Lucas and Hedy Velma (Fowler) Lucas. He lived in Enid, Oklahoma, moving to Great Bend, Kansas where he lived for 52 years. In November 2019, Gerald moved to Ottawa, Kansas, where he has made his home until his death. He graduated from Wilson High School, Wilson, Oklahoma with the class of 1952 and continued his education at the University of Oklahoma, graduating in 1959, with a Bachelor of Science in Geology and a minor in Spanish. Gerald served in the United States Army in the early 1950’s stationed at Fort Leonard Wood during the Korean War. Gerald was united in marriage to Lucille Meaders July 26, 1953, at Frederick, Oklahoma. They were happily married 65 years and had a son Gary. He was employed as a drilling mud engineer with Baroid Industrial Drilling, later known as N. L. Industries of Houston, Texas, from the mid-1950’s until his retirement in the late 1990’s. Gerald always enjoyed family vacations and gatherings, fishing, boating, and pheasant hunting. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lucille, on October 3, 2018; his parents and two siblings, Selma McGaughy and Harold “Buster” Lucas. Survivors include one son, Gary (JoAnne) Lucas of Ottawa, and three grandchildren, Ben A. Lucas of Boston, Massachusetts, Alex D. Lucas of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Rosalyn P. Lucas of Lenexa, Kansas.