Kurt John Lucas

Kurt John Lucas of Manchester, NH, formerly of Franconia, passed peacefully on June 28, 2022, at Community Hospice House in Amherst, NH, following a long struggle with diabetes and renal disease. He was the loving husband of Karen Woodford Lucas for nearly forty-seven years, and the proud father of Adam Woodford Lucas of Goffstown. He and his son shared many wonderful father-son adventures, especially a memorable trip to Las Vegas for Adam's twenty first birthday. Kurt also leaves daughter-in-law Sara Tejada Lucas, and grandson Noah Clark Lucas, the light of his life. He is survived by his sister Linda Lucas Ford of Franconia, brother Richard Lucas (Susan Strayer) of Hamden, CT, sister-in-law Cheryl Woodford Nevins (Don), of Reno, NV, brothers-in-law David Woodford (Diane) of Voorhees, NJ, and Jeff Woodford (Benay) of Southbury, CT, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. The son of John and Anna (Fischer) Lucas of Seymour, CT, Kurt was a member of the Seymour High School Class of 1968 and graduated from Southern CT State College in 1973. He did graduate work at the University of New Haven, Sacred Heart University, and online with Cornell. After college he was appointed a Special Assistant Clerk for the Superior Court of New Haven, CT and later managed the insurance department and the then new Bank Americard (VISA) operations for the Seymour Trust Company. Kurt came from a long line of Lutheran ministers dating back almost to the Reformation and it was thought he might continue in that tradition. But his heart belonged to the field of Emergency Medical Services. While in college, he and friends, including lifelong friend Dave Steckert, became charter members of the Seymour Ambulance Association. They trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and Kurt was one of the association's first presidents. He provided inspiration for many family members to become EMTs, including his retired father-in-law, Robert Clark Woodford who served with the Southbury, CT Ambulance Corps for many years. In 1976 Kurt became the Assistant Director of the Northwest CT Emergency Medical Services Council and later Executive Director of the Southwest CT EMS Council. When he left to accept a similar position in Maine, the city of Stamford, CT proclaimed Dec. 16, 1985, as Kurt J. Lucas Day. His late brother-in-law Ken Ford made sure to remind the family of this each year. Returning to CT as Director of the Capital Area Health Consortium, he was active in the implementation of the Life Star critical care helicopter service out of Hartford Hospital. The family moved to NH in 1992 when Kurt was named to the newly created position of Manager of Trauma/EMS at Littleton Regional Hospital. In seventeen years at LRH he also served as Coordinator of Patient Support Services and Community Health Access and was Project Director for the North Country Health Systems Consortium. He was involved in establishing the hospital- based Paramedic Intercept program in which paramedics met up enroute with ambulances carrying critically ill patients to the Emergency Department. Kurt will be most remembered for his part in developing the annual New Hampshire Emergency Medical Services Conference and successfully managing the small army of volunteers needed to present it. A multiday learning experience for EMS providers and First Responders, it attracted hundreds of participants from NH, New England, and even Canada to the beautiful White Mountains each October. During his career he received numerous awards and was recognized for his contributions to emergency medical services in three states by Marquis's Who's Who in America in 2008. Kurt was preceded in death by his parents, John and Anna, parents-in-law Robert, and Elizabeth Woodford, and most recently by Kenneth Ford, husband of his sister Linda. Services under the direction of the Cremation Society of NH will be held on Saturday, July 30th at Phaneuf Funeral homes & Crematorium, 243 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH. A gathering will begin at noon followed by a service at one o'clock conducted by Pastor Karl Hester. There will be a reception immediately after in the funeral home. He was a member of Gethsemane Lutheran Church. All who knew Kurt are invited to attend. Private interment will be in Franconia. In partnership with SOLO, the oldest continually operating School of Wilderness Medicine in the United States, the family has established the Kurt Lucas Memorial Wilderness EMT Scholarship. Emergency services, especially in rural areas, rely heavily on volunteers. Scholarship funds will assist candidates who may be unable to afford the costs of the Wilderness EMT certification program. Donations may be made in his memory to SOLO Schools, PO Box 3150, Conway, NH, 03818. The Lucas family would like to thank the staff at both the Community Hospice House for their compassionate care of Kurt in his final days, and at DaVita Dialysis in Manchester and Bedford for their care over the past four years.

Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of NH.

To view Kurt's Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com.

LINKS

Cremation Society of New Hampshire

https://csnh.com

The Caledonian-Record

http://www.caledonianrecord.com