Birth date: Jul 30, 1924 Death date: Nov 5, 2009
Howard Burdette Lucas was born July 30, 1924 to Fred Earle and Elva Mildred Lucas in Aberdeen, Washington. After the stock market crash in 1929, the family -" including brother, Ronald -" moved to a farm in Oroville, Washington wh Read Obituary
Penny, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. May you have comfort in the fond memories you shared with your father. My deepest sympathy goes out to you and your family.
Your friend,
Teresa Brim##imported-begin##Teresa Brim##imported-end##
I was discharged from the service in June, 1971, with enough money saved up to buy a used car and all the necessary equipment for darkroom/enlarging work, which I bought from my new acquaintance Howard Lucas, at the Camera Shop. I spent a lot of time there, gaining advice from Howard, which proved to be a much greater value than the price of the equipment. When our paths crossed again at TPD in the "I&R" (Identification & Records) Section a few years later, Howard was again my mentor, a role I saw him as until his retirement.
I would visit Howard at Pioneer Place every other week or so, where he would instantly recognize me, with first and last name, as I entered his room. Our visits, lasting an hour or two, would sometimes fall silent. He would say, "Hank, why do you come out here to see me; it is simply a waste of your time". I would reply, "Howard, I always enjoy hanging around great thinkers and talented people". I would then tell Howard that I was looking for new wives for us both, and the really good-looking ones always wanted to know about Howard first. His laughter showed me he never did lose his sense of humor.##imported-begin##Hank Baarslag##imported-end##
Howard was a long time friend of my family ( Ray and Arlene Alred). I remember visiting with Howard at our home and how friendly and kind he was to all of us. When my father passed away in 1984, Howard was so kind and understanding as he counseled me in coping with my loss. Howard had such a calm and reassuring way of dealing with even the most difficult of times. I wish that I had had more contact with him over the last few years, but I guess that was not to be. I am so sorry for your loss. He served us all well. Love and prayers with you all, Kathy##imported-begin##Kathy Warren##imported-end##
I was proud of my Father because of the following:
He worked as a freelance photographer for KOMO 4 News for several years in the 60’s. He covered events such as the Columbus Day Storm 10/12/1962 and the Tacoma earthquake 4/29/1965 and numerous other events. He had an opportunity to interview Eric Burdon and War for the 1969 concert at Cheney Stadium for the local News.
Our house was always equipped with a police radio so he could cover the latest news.
He sang barbershop quartet for many events.##imported-begin##Penny Nelson##imported-end##
These are some words from the book
“Those were the Days, My Friendsâ€Â
Written by Elva Lucas
Mother of Howard Lucas
Also known as Momelle to us Granddaughters
Percy the Lamb
One of our neighbors, Percy Weaver, called one day to say that a band of sheep had passed his place and left a baby lamb that was unable to keep up with the others and he thought our boys might like it fr a pet -- they would! The little fellow was pretty bedraggled and sick, but after he had a bath and hundreds of sage ticks had been removed from his hide and he had all the warm milk he could drink, he looked like he might be worth saving after all. In a few day he knew his name was "Percy" and when called he would come running to get his warm milk. He enjoyed a bath, and was a clean and affectionate pet to have around the house. Howard was his particular hero, and he followed the boy wherever he went. It was a comical sight as he galloped down the read trying to keep up with Howard on his bike, and that big long tail flopping! He loved to run full speed into a flock of hens and watch them scatter as they squawked in fright. Guess it gave him a sense of power to cause so much commotion but -- it could have been just a sense of humor! One day when Howard was feeding the chickens, he put a handful of wheat on Percy's back where it settled down in the thick wool. One of the roosters discovered it (probably Howard put the rooster on the sheep's back) and he became positively hysterical in his desire to share all this with the hens. He called and called to them, dancing and scratching the wheat out of the wool, and through all this Percy stood perfectly still, turning his head from side to side, eyes half closed, in every way showing his delight and ecstasy at having his back so well scratched! After this you may be sure Percy was always on hand when it was time to feed the chickens.
The winter of Howard's Senior year was a busy one for he was a star player in the high school basketball team. He was built for that type of sport and whenever we attended a game we were thrilled to hear the chant "We want Howard" or "We want Luke". He seemed able to score often and when the other team would make a point was when the call went up. One day he told me that one the the boys had been ill when they were making a trip to another town and it was learned that he had the mumps. Of course everyone was exposed and it seemed hardly possible that our boy would escape it. Many of the boys began to come down with the disease and -- it was tournament time! At about the right time, Howard began to ail a little but would not admit that he was sick. It was hard to keep him down for he was determined to play in the tournament. Although he was not really ill, did not have any temperature or any of the usual symptoms f the disease, it did seem probable that he had the mumps. We took him to the doctor in town but he was never very positive about anything anyway, and would only say that he "could have the mumps" and advised against playing basketball. But Howard talked him out of it and the doctor would not definitely forbid his playing. Neighbors of ours were going to Tonasket one day, and offered to take him to the doctor there. When he got back there was no guess about it -- that doctor had said basketball was "out of the question!" even though he was not positive that he had mumps. It was a hard time for poor Howard, especially since Oroville lost he tournament! He and many others on the team, and including the coach, felt there team would have won if Howard could have played.
Howard graduated from High School....He went to Wenatchee and stayed with my sister, Stella and her family for awhile, working in the cannery where she and Jack [Tracy] were always the best of friends. He was soon supervisor of a crew who were loading and trucking cans of fruit. After he came home he worked in the orchards and apple warehouses, and in the early winter he and a friend went to Spokaine where they each got work. It was not steady w
This was sent and well said by Steven Holmes who contributed well to Dad's career with the Tacoma Police Department.
Just prior to coming to work for TPD Howard did "freelance" work for several Tacoma attornies as a "Private Investigator." They contracted him to gather all kinds of information to aid in court presentation such as photographing crime scenes and various locations as well as doing scale drawings of streets, intersections, businesses, and dwellings. Howard was a noted 'expert' testifying in the courtroom.
Howard was hired by the TPD in 1973 and was immediately assigned to the Identification & Records Unit ("I&R Officer") where he investigated crime scenes, did photography, diagrams, and gathered evidence and fingerprints. Howard told me that the job was a "God-send" as he could do the things he loved, got paid well, great benefits, and he didn't have to maintain his investigation business.
Howard, excelled in everything he did and became a recognized "expert" in the area of crime scene processing. He taught Crime Scene Investigation classes in the Tacoma Police Academy and was a mentor to several officers for his knowledge in Forensic Sciences.
Howard attended numerous Forensic Science schools across the nation during his career and became a Breathalyzer Instructor to all police officers. He later became a Polygraph Examiner (lie detector operator) for the department. During his many years of distinguished service he recieved numerous citizen and departmental commendations for his dedicated work ethic and abilities. Howard retired on 'length of service' from the City of Tacoma Police Department.
For some unknown reason he befriended me when I was hired. He was older with no hair, and I was a younger person with long hair to my shoulder. He was military trained and I was not. We became close by him taking me under his wing and training me to be a CSI; Crime Scene Investigator before television made it popular. He was the ultimate professional in everything he did. He became my 'father-figure' and I was honored that he and Pauline, would be 'god-parents' to my newborn daughter. When Howard had his stroke, the department called me to be with him at the hospital where I remained by his side day and night. When he had his heart by-pass he told the staff at the hospital that I was his "son" as they would only allow family members in to be with him. We remained very close since 1975 and feel blessed to have prayed with him just hours prior to his passing. When people ask you to name someone that has influenced your life more than others, without hesitation I say "Howard Lucas" as he was indeed the most influential person in my entire life. He was undeniably the most intelligent person I have ever met in history. While I couldn't scratch the surface of his personnel file, I hope the above will help in some way. Oh, I almost forgot! When I started processing crime scenes he pegged me with the name "Sherlock Holmes" and it stuck with the whole department for the next 32 years.
I know most of this isn't for the obituary, it's just closure for me.... Sherlock##imported-begin##Penny Nelson##imported-end##
