Don graduated from Benjamin Russell High School, in Alexander City, class of 1955. He attended the University of Alabama graduating in 1959 with a BS degree in Civil Engineering. Following graduation, he served two years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a commissioned officer. He continued his career with the Alabama Highway Department as a bridge design engineer, retiring in 1989. He relocated from Montgomery to Birmingham and began a career there as a consulting engineer with a private firm, retiring again in 2002.
In addition to his parents, Rev. Kirk S. Lucas, and Lesie R. Lucas, he was predeceased by a brother, Eugene Riley Lucas and a sister Patricia Ann Duerr. Surviving in addition to his wife, Betty (Gaston) Lucas, are his son, Donald R. Lucas Jr., his wife, Barbara Thompson Lucas of Gulf Shores, Alabama; one grandson, Donald R. Lucas III; his brother Kirk S. Lucas Jr.; several nieces and a nephew.
A time of visitation and remembrance will be held from 1 PM to 3 PM on Monday, November 21, 2022, at Southern Heritage Funeral Home, 475 Cahaba Valley Road in Birmingham. There will be an additional service on Tuesday, November 22, 2022, at Leak Memory Chapel, 945 Lincoln Road, Montgomery, Alabama, with visitation at 1 PM followed by a memorial service at 2 PM. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Montgomery. Those who wish to remember Don in a special way may make gifts in his memory to The Big Oak Ranch, P.O. Box 507, Springville, Alabama, 35146.
