Richard A Lucas

Dick was born in Portland on Dec. 21, 1930, to William and Edith Selberg Lucas. The second of nine children, Dick grew up on Munjoy Hill and attended local schools, graduating from Portland High School in 1950.

An accomplished swimmer, Dick was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Maine Sports Swimming Hall of Fame in 2001. An All-American swimmer, Dick ranked high among the great swimmers that Maine - Portland High School and the Portland Boys' Club in particular - has produced.

A Bulldog star, Dick was a three-year schoolboy All American from 1948 to 1950. In 1950 he set the world record in the 50 yard backstroke with a time of 26.1 seconds. He also tied the national schoolboy record in the 100 yard backstroke at 59.9 seconds, becoming the first swimmer to break the one minute barrier. In the same year he was part of a team that broke the national records in the 150 yard and 300 yard Medley Relays. The record still stands today.

Demonstrating endurance beyond his years, Dick won the Peaks Island-to-Portland swim in 1947 as a 16 year old, the youngest winner ever in the annual mid-summer event. Dick's success and reputation at such a young age served as an inspiration to other athletes from the Munjoy Hill area.

One of Dick's proudest moments was in 1968 when his son, Richard E. Lucas, set two state records in the state swimming championships. The father's 1950 100 yard backstroke record, which still stood, was posted alongside his son's 1968 records. Father and son were state record holders at the same time, a first in Maine's sports swimming history.

In 1950, Dick married his high school sweetheart, Coletta Tanerillo. They remained happily married and devoted to each other for 61 years until Coletta's passing in August of 2011.

They spent most of their married life on Munjoy Hill, where they raised their three children.

Dick worked for Breggy Oil for several years and then became a route salesman for Jordan Meats before he turned to his dream of owning and operating his own lobster boat, the 'Coletta R.' In later years, he was a cook on a fishing vessel, spending weeks at a time at sea.

After retirement, Dick and Coletta spent six years in Daytona Beach, Fla. Returning to Maine in 2006, they immersed themselves in the activities of their children and grandchildren, rarely missing a single family event. Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, weddings, babies and holidays were all causes for celebration and they enjoyed them all throughout their later years.

Dick was predeceased by his beloved wife Coletta; his parents; and his brothers, William, Donald and Robert Lucas. He is survived by his children, Richard E. Lucas and his wife Judy of Falmouth, Diana Lucas of Falmouth and Donna Graffam of Portland; three grandsons, Andrew Green and fiancee Karen Smart, Brian Green, John Warden and his wife Sue, three granddaughters, Melissa Lewis and her husband Paul, Marie Blanchard and her husband Robert, Amy Green and her fiance Tony Orlando; two step-grandchildren, Robert Trumpler and Laura Prescott; and eight great- grandsons, Paul and Baylee Lewis, Dean, Drew, Dawson and Darian Blanchard, AJ Green and Lyric Orlando. He is also survived by four brothers, Ken, Peter, Phil and Paul Lucas and a sister, Gloria Wiggin.

Family and friends are invited to a time of visitation from 12-2 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at Jones, Rich and Hutchins, 199 Woodford St., Portland, followed by a graveside service at 2:30 p.m., at Brooklawn Memorial Park, Congress Street, Portland.