Alton Elmer Lucas Jr.

Al Lucas, the oldest of four children in his family, is remembered for his kind and gentle ways, teasing sense of humor, and a deep conviction to service.  He attended St. Rita elementary school, Central Catholic High School, and the University of Portland, graduating with a degree in business like his dad.  The day after graduation he married his college sweetheart, Colleen McGuire.  They moved to Los Angeles, where Al was assigned to North American Rockwell in the Air Force Contract Management Division.  While living in the Los Angeles area, they had two children:  Jeff and Krista.  After completing his military service, in 1971, Al and his family moved back to Portland.  He found work in the wholesale food service industry and Colleen pursued her career in nursing.

Settling in Portland, they chose the Bonny Slope area and Holy Trinity as their Catholic home.   Eventually, the family moved to the North side of highway 26 and in 1994 officially joined St. Pius X. 

On Al’s days off work he relished hiking, backpacking, doing street rambles in the NW hills of Portland, rock hounding, and caving.  He loved being in God’s nature and learning about the wonderful world we live in.  Family time was a centering point for Al.  When Colleen’s parents retired to Hartstene, Island, summer days were spent there where the family biked and spent hours digging clams, playing tennis, and walking the trails.  Other vacations were spent with Al’s parents at Sunriver, enjoying the desert heat, canoe float trips, bike rides and family time.  Eventually, Al and Colleen built their own piece of heaven in Sunriver where summers were spent with the Lucas family, playing games, golfing, and enjoying the grandchildren.

As parents grew older and more frail, he served them with the love and respect they needed and deserved until they were called to their final eternal resting places, Al ‘s parents at age 92 and Colleen’s at age 94.

In 2006, both Al and Colleen retired from their careers and re-wired themselves with a service focus for life.  He joined the Knights of Columbus, serving in the position of Treasurer, while also putting his food service industry experience to use by volunteering with St. Vincent de Paul.  Eventually Al would become the treasurer and President of St. Vincent de Paul at St Pius X, and work toward transitioning the home food delivery program into a free-standing pantry where those in need could come shop for their own groceries.  Under his leadership, the pantry grew in size, numbers of pounds of food donated, and number of neighbors served.  His final wish is that the century old pantry building be replaced with one that is safe, sustainable, containing reliable plumbing, refrigeration, and air conditioning. 

In serving the needs of others, he was a cook at Faith Café, a Steward with men’s ACTS retreats, helped build houses with Habitat for Humanity, and arranged for food delivery to Our Lady of Peace Retreat during COVID when retreats had been cancelled, cutting off their income source.  And finally, when a Ukrainian family was desperately attempting to relocate to the West Coast of the United States, he sourced funding for airline tickets for family members.  This man with a big heart and generous soul was driven to provide comfort for others where it was most needed. 

Our deepest appreciation to all of you for your love, support, and comforting prayers.  You have truly been our prayer warriors.  If you wish to make a donation in memory of Al, you can do so by writing a check to St Vincent DePaul-St Pius X. 

Send to St Pius X Catholic Church

1280 NW Saltzman Rd

Portland, OR 97229

On line giving can be directed to this link: https://www.stpius.org/svdp

Whichever way you choose to make a donation, please write in the memo line 

SVDP Building Fund.