Dorothy Neomi Lucas

She attended George W. Truett Elementary School, W.H. Gaston Junior High School, and graduated with honors from Bryan Adams High School.

She attended St. Pius Catholic Church, Berean Baptist Church, Soul’s Harbor, Church On The Rock, Grace Assembly of God, Lakewood Assembly of God, Casa View Assembly of God, and North Mesquite Assembly of God. Dorothy wrote a beautiful poem affirming her relationship with God, and this will be displayed at the funeral service, and can also be seen in the memorial video on this website.

Dorothy was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and had her first surgery at 21 months old at the old St. Paul Hospital on Bryan and Hall Streets, by doctors Jack Woolf and Morris Sanders. They removed as much of the tumor as possible, but were doubtful they removed it all. The projected her life to be about 16 years. She received radiation therapy in 1973 by Dr. Dale Fuller at St. Paul Hospital on Harry Hines Blvd, with the final treatment being given on her 12th birthday. Her parents took her to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to learn more about chemotherapy. But to them, in the ‘70’s, it was frightening to insert poison into her to kill the tumor, so they came back to Dallas having decided to leave her health in the Lord’s hands.

In 1977, Dorothy’s high school, Bryan Adams, was in a playoff game with Roosevelt High School in the Cotton Bowl. She met Steve Lucas in the endzone, where he was with his Woodrow High School friends rearranging the seats to read WWW, from the WTW that some of the WT White students had set. Dorothy and Steve started going out, and were soon in a car wreck that caused Dorothy’s head to leave an impression in the windshield. Soon after, they wanted to marry. Dorothy’s parents wouldn’t allow her to get married until after she graduated from high school. To be able to graduate sooner, Dorothy attended summer school, and was able to finish her courses in November 1979. They were married the following April, and she walked with her graduating class in 1980 as a married woman.

Wanting to work, Dorothy found employment at Republic National Bank in downtown Dallas as a mail clerk, sorting and distributing mail throughout the building. Her coordination was growing worse as she maneuvered her metal mail cart through the halls and doorways, so she applied for another job within the bank, and was chosen to be an AES Operator, running a machine that makes copies of checks.

She needed another brain surgery in April 1981. The eight-hour surgery found that a massive cyst filled with fluid was pressing on her brain stem, and they removed it. The following morning, however, Dorothy stopped breathing, and needed another surgery to puncture inflated ventricals in her brain. Four days later she woke up, and was able to breathe on her own after seven days.

In the late ‘80s, Dorothy and Steve went on vacations to San Antonio, TX, Colorado Springs, CO, and Disneyland in California. In 1991 the miracle Matthew was born, and he was dedicated to the Lord on Mother’s Day. In 1993 the miracle Sarah was born, and she was dedicated to the Lord on Father’s Day. As a family of four, they made 3 trips to Colorado on vacation to visit her sister Cathy and family.

In 2003 at Christmas, Dorothy needed another surgery to replace her shunt again. Family and friends stepped in to help the children through Christmas, allowing Steve to help Dorothy through another surgery and recovery. Dr. Bruce Mickey at UT Southwestern, her current neurosurgeon, performed the operation. It was successful, and she had a much smoother recovery.

Through the years she went daily to McDonald’s to get coffee, hashbrowns, and sometimes a sausage biscuit, in her powered wheelchair. She enjoyed meeting and talking with people wherever she was, on the bus, the sidewalk, or wherever people would give her the time.

In 2013, scans showed that Dorothy had 3 growing tumors, caused as an after-effect of the radiation therapy she had back in 1973. Dorothy wanted to put the surgery off for a little while, but then started making plans for the surgery to remove the largest, fastest growing one. Before the surgery could take place, she was hit by a car in her powered wheelchair. Again she needed a respirator to survive. It took a month for her breathing to become stable again, and longer to become aware of what had happened to her. Though it took some time, she went through rehab very well, and her family was very proud of her. By this time, her brain had the health of a 90-year-old, and she had a history of stormy recoveries. She lost quite a bit from the car hitting her, and if another brain surgery couldn’t make her better, she did not want it. At the very best, if she survived the surgery, and survived the recovery (which was just as risky), how long would it take for her to get back to where she was, if she were ever able to? Since it couldn’t make her better, and risked what she had remaining, she decided she did not want the surgery.

40 years ago, the doctors would have never imagined Dorothy living this long, or getting so much out of life. She was never afraid to die, and she never lived like she was going to die. She kept going and going to reach something better. And it looks like she has. She is now free from her tormenting body.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, Vincent Joseph Scoma and Dorothy Neomi Goode Scoma, and brother, Vincent Scoma.

She is survived by her husband, Stephen Wade Lucas of Dallas, TX; son, Matthew Stephen Lucas of Dallas, TX; daughter, Sarah Noel Lucas of Dallas, TX; sisters, Mary Hunt of White Plains, MD, Donna Glasgow of Forney, TX, and Cathy Archer and husband Keith of Golden, CO; nephews, Timothy Hunt of Hyattsville, MD, Stephen Hunt of Waldorf, MD, David Glasgow of Forney, TX, Aaron Archer of Arvada, CO, Ryan Moore of Mesquite, TX, and Austin Moore of Mesquite, TX; nieces, Theresa Glasgow of Alexandria, VA, Christina Glasgow of Rowlett, TX, Laura Amick of Arvada, CO, and Amanda Moore of Mesquite, TX; great-nephews, Cameron Glasgow, Luke Evans, and Evan Hunt; and great-niece, Isabella Hunt.