Obituary of John F. Lucas

John Franklin Lucas, a resident of the Town of Poughkeepsie, entered into rest Thursday, December 7, 2023, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, NY. He was 71.

Son of the late Carl W. and Dorothy M. Bilger Lucas, he was born August 15, 1952 in North Tonawanda, New York. John proudly served his country in the United States Navy for 6 years. He was honorably discharged in 1978.  

Prior to his retirement, John worked as a computer programmer at IBM in Poughkeepsie. He was an avid sports fan and always rooted for his Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He loved The Beatles and anything Disney. He enjoyed playing trivia at Juan Murphy’s on Wednesday nights.

Survivors include his wife of nearly 40 years, Debra F. (Cristello) Lucas; his daughter, Kelsey T. (Lucas) Rosado and her husband, Joseph; as well as his granddaughter who was his pride and joy, Vivian Lennon.

Family and friends will gather on Wednesday, December 13, 2023 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Straub, Catalano & Halvey Funeral Home, 55 East Main Street in Wappingers Falls. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. and military honors at 6:30 p.m. at the funeral home.

The family wishes to thank John’s doctors, nurses and care team at Castle Point VA, the transplant team at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell, Dr. Paul Wright, Dr Simon Gorwara, and Jordan Zimmer who made John’s kidney transplant possible.

Memorial donations in John’s name may be made to American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 7023, Merrifield, VA  22116-7023; American Heart Association, PO Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692; or National Kidney Foundation, 30 East 33rd Street, New York, New York 10016-5337.