Jack Lucas Lived Life The Right Way, Every Day

By John Singleton

Jack Lucas and Joanne Paxson of Pasadena were engaged on Valentine’s Day. They were married a few months later on July 6, 2002 in the chapel at Spalding High School. At the wedding reception, they chose ‘Amazed’ by Lonestar as their song. Their favorite line was “I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side.”

On the evening of January 15, 2011, Jack Lucas died suddenly, in Grandson, TN. He was surrounded by family including his wife, son and grandson.

“Jack loved his son, and all his children and grandchildren. We spent many happy times with family and we always looked forward to those rare times when we had a quiet night at home,” said his wife Joanne Lucas. “I will miss him by my side the rest of my life,” she added.

Happiness is the best way to describe Jack Lucas. He lived it… He spread it!

When Jack and Joanne met, they were single parents vigilantly guiding their children through high school. When Jack passed away at age 68, they had six grandchildren, scores of loyal friends, and a lifetime of memories.

“In a world of ‘what’s in it for me?’ there does exist a small percentage of the population who ask ‘what can I offer to others?’ Jack Lucas was included in that small percentage. His selflessness was ever present in everything he did. He was instrumental, in his role as Sports Boosters President at Archbishop Spalding, developing a vision that has evolved into the present day success of Spalding’s athletic program,” commented Lee Dove, Athletic Director there. “Jack did it for all the right reasons. I appreciate the heart and soul that he gave to Spalding. I will always treasure the friendship we were able to share.”

Jack Lucas spent a successful career with Bank of America, but he was best known locally for his tenure at the Big Vanilla Athletic Club in Pasadena. His coworkers described him as a man with a great capacity for happiness.

His step-daughter Amanda Hunter and step-son Jeff Paxson agreed, “Jack truly was a great man. We only wish we had one more day with him.”

“Big Vanilla was like a second family to Jack. They put on a celebration of his life at the club after the funeral that was wonderful,” said step-daughter Stephanie Barchanowicz. “They had a microphone for guests to say a few words. They had a slideshow on the TV monitors with pictures of Jack’s life and they had Jack’s son Chris Lucas of LoCash Cowboys on the sound system.”

Jack Lucas was his son’s number one fan. Jack’s license plate read ‘LOCASH 1.’ The LoCash Cowboys are a country music duo made up of Chris Lucas and Preston Brust whose second single, "Keep in Mind," entered the top 40 on the country music charts earlier this year.

“Loving his family was his favorite thing in the world,” began Chris. “My dad would call me every night at the same time to check on me and my wife and his grandson. They were short phone conversations, but long enough to let me know how much he cared and loved me. I will miss him for the rest of my life...”

Jack and Joanne Lucas’ marriage was the stuff of everyday life. On Thursday nights they were regulars at the Sunset Restaurant in Glen Burnie; on Sundays they attended church at St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park. If Jack was working at Big Vanilla after church, Joanne would bring him a breakfast sandwich from Cookies Kitchen.

“The day Jack died we were waiting for Chris outside Nashville, talking about our weekend,” recalled Joanne. “We both agreed it had been great and Jack said he thought ‘Chris had a great girl.’ I then told him if he was happy I was happy and he looked at me and said ‘I am very happy.’”