Howard B. Lucas' Obituary
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 where Howard spent the remainder of his childhood. The family grew quite large with the addition of dozens of farm animals, including dog Tagalong, horses Bob and Daisy, Spoonface the duck, Sally Patica the cow, and many others. Though life on the farm presented its hardships, Howard had many experiences that were the envy of his classmates -" flying in an airplane, spending a day riding in the engine of a train on the Great Northern Railroad, and, in 1930, being the first kid to go swimming, a feat he achieved on February 13. Howard excelled in his studies and developed a special affinity for mathematics. He graduated from high school in Oroville in 1942.
After he worked a few different jobs in eastern Washington, Howard received orders to join the war effort. He reported for duty in the US Army and eventually worked in the Engineer Corps in Europe after training and a year of college at the University of Ohio. His assignment ended in 1946 when he was honorably discharged.
Following his service, Howard accepted a job as a safety engineer for the Bureau of Reclamation's Grand Coulee Dam Project where he met Joyce McKitrick from the accounting department. They began dating and married in 1947. He was later recalled to active duty in the Army in 1950 and stationed at Fort Lewis. He and Joyce enjoyed Tacoma and chose to stay and raise a family after his second honorable discharge in 1951. Later that year, they had their first daughter, Penny and four years later, their second daughter, Cheryl.
Howard worked at The Camera Shop in downtown Tacoma for several years and eventually became a freelance photographer on the side. He worked for several attorneys as a private investigator often photographing crime scenes and related material then testifying in court as an expert. In addition, he covered several events for local news agencies including the Columbus Day storm in 1962 and the Tacoma earthquake in 1965.
In 1973, he was hired by the Tacoma Police Department and assigned to the Identification and Records Unit. The Department quickly recognized his expertise in processing crime scenes and he taught classes at the Tacoma Police Academy in addition to mentoring new officers in forensics. He retired in 1986 after a distinguished career.
In retirement, Howard developed a love for ballroom dancing. After spending years perfecting the technique, he and his wife, Pauline, taught the art to countless vacationers on several major cruise lines. As a consequence, he and Pauline traveled all over the world doing what they loved. Golf was another favorite pastime and he spent many days on his favorite local courses. He played several other courses around the country during the frequent RV trips he and Pauline took between cruises.
Howard is survived by daughters Penny (Daniel) Nelson and Cheryl (Christopher) Murphy; stepdaughters Sharon, Patti, and Lynn; grandchildren Lydia, Alyssa, Michael, and Nicholas; and great-granddaughters Alexandra and Ava. Howard is preceded in death by his wife, Pauline.
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