Condolence: Sincerest condolences to all of Dicks family and friends. I know that we will all miss him dearly.

Condolence: Scorpion Shipmate, Rest your oar. Fair winds and Following Seas.

Condolence: Dear Steve, We are so sorry to hear of your dad's passing. You always spoke so highly of him and your late mom. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Paul & Linda Boulanger

Condolence: Our heartfelt condolences to all of the close friends and family of Dickie. We sure loved this guy. He was a mentor and a close friend who will always be in our hearts.
Wishing you peace. Lots of love, Bill and Lisa Crawford

Condolence: Stephen, I'm so sorry for the loss of your Father . My memories of your father running out for coffee early in the morning for your mom,antiquing with them and the many parties and dinners we went to are some of the happiest I have .
The absents of your father has been a difficult one. I hope your beautiful memories and our love for you and your parents will help ease your pain . Love ,Aunt Linda

Condolence: I wanted to add additional detail about Richard's life which his obituary fails to capture. I remember the happiest years of Richard’s life which I'd like to share and some facts unique to him that many who knew him and grew up with him would also remember fondly.

First, he hated his middle name and rarely did he like it being used.

Second he preferred “Dick” to “Rich” his friends knew him as Dick and early childhood friends and Navy buddies knew him as “Luke”

Sadly, for the last 10 years of his life, he became a different person. I think much of it came from loneliness and fear. Richard was not allowed to see his son after his new marriage, being threatened that all of his belongings would be outside when he returned if he did. We mourned him many years ago unfortunately as we were shut out of his life by his new family due to jealousy, control and greed.

The obituary sadly read as a resume without the feeling of either love or remembrance which I hope to remedy.

In his early life my father loved cars. He loved to work on them and to race them. In 1961 he ordered and bought his dream car; a white Corvette with red trim.

He used this car extensively while racing up and down the East Coast winning countless quarter mile races and qualifying for Virginia’s Winter Nationals.

He also owned a boat in those early years and he loved to fish with his Navy buddies whom he shared a home with.

In November of 1965 he married his high school sweetheart Barbara Jelinek of Rockville. They celebrated their honeymoon in a wintery trip to Niagara Falls.

In March of 1967 Richard and Barbara welcomed a son, Stephen. Stephen was named after Richard’s cousin Stephen Lukasiewski who was one of the first causalities of the Vietnam War in December of 1965.

With Richard having a family he chose to leave the Navy in December of 1967. Tragically in May of 1968, his submarine, Scorpion SSN 589 was lost with all hands...omething that would haunt Richard the rest of his life.

But his dedication to the Navy, and his friends never faltered.

After coming back home to the Connecticut area, the Lukas family settled down in Coventry and Vernon. Then in 1971 Richard and Barbara bought their dream home in Vernon Center; an 1803 Greek Revival.

For the next 20+ years Richard and Barbara toiled and restored this home from the ground up. They spent many weekends going to tag sales and antique shows to find the perfect items to outfit their beautiful home; additionally, making memorable family trips to Williamsburg to find the correct paint colors for the rooms. It was a passion they shared for the rest of Barbara’s life.

Richard, being the incredible worker that he was, allowed for Barbara to stay home and take care of their son Stephen while she concentrated on her growing antiques business, Early Dawn Antiques. The business name was derived from the previous life their home lived, serving as an inn called the Early Dawn Inn over 100 years prior.

In 1989 Richard lost the love of his life to an aneurism. Barbara died in his arms.

Condolence: On behalf of the United States Submarine Veterans (USSVI), I offer our sincere condolences on Richard’s passing. You and your loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers. We are forever grateful for Richard’s service to our country in the U.S. Submarine Service. To our Brother of the Phin we say, “Sailor, rest your oar. We have the watch. May you rest in peace and may God bless your loved ones who remain. Thank you for your service to our country."
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way.” - 2 Thess 3:16.

Richard C. Lukas EN1(SS), US Navy, Now on Eternal Patrol.
Fair Winds and Following Seas Shipmate
His record is now posted online in the Eternal Patrol file on the USSVI website.

Bill Dixon, National Chaplain United States Submarine Veterans, USSVI.