Longtime Mountview teacher Lou Lucas remembered
HOLDEN — Former students and others who knew him had nothing but good things to say about Lou Lucas, the beloved longtime Mountview Middle School art teacher who passed away at the age of 85 last month.
“Everybody loved him,” said his wife of 38 years, Carol Lucas. “He was very kind and generous with his time; he would stay after school and help the kids out. Just a good man.”
Louis “Lou” James Lucas died peacefully, surrounded by his family, on Feb. 6. The art teacher left an indelible mark on many a student during his time at Mountview in the 1970s and ‘80s, including on Landmark cartoonist Don Landgren.
“He was a mentor to me,” said Landgren, who was a student of Lou’s from 1973-76. “He encouraged me to draw cartoons, having me fill up sketchbooks with all sorts of drawings. I filled up two or three of those books during eighth grade.”
Landgren recalls breaking his foot in eighth grade, so instead of going to gym class he would go to “Mr. Lucas’ art room.” “I was always getting passes to go to his art room during study halls and any free periods,” Landgren said. “When I graduated from Mountview, he gave me a lifetime pass to his art room, which I still have. I used that pass to visit him often during high school and college.”
Landgren credits his teacher’s encouragement as the reason behind his decision to pursue art as a major and career choice in the newspaper business, both at The Landmark and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. He last saw Lou a couple of years ago at his home in Millbury, and got to introduce him to his wife and youngest daughter.
“Always interested in students, he got to see her work, as she is now a senior at UMass Dartmouth studying graphic design,” Landgren said. “(She) also draws, and I showed him some of the children’s books she’s illustrated.”
Two other past students of Lou’s also had nothing but high praise for their teacher. Desiree D’Ambrosio-Shafman, who now lives in the Pacific Northwest about halfway between Seattle and Portland, was a classmate of Landgren. She also maintained contact with their art teacher, and said Lou was “so influential to so many people.”
“Lou was able to see the artistic potential in students and encouraged lifelong learning by sharing his passion for creativity,” D’Ambrosio-Shafman said. “I will miss having conversations about art, life, religion, philosophy, spirituality. I was always in awe of his ability to weave together his vast knowledge in a way that showed the connections between the elements of life. He has touched so many lives, mine included.”
Another classmate, Robin Bobkowski-Broderick, echoed those sentiments. She remembers Lou’s classroom as being “an environment of peace, kindness, and creativity that made junior high somehow bearable.”
Lou himself was a talented artist who had the ability to interpret his readings of mythology and ancient symbols into intricate pen and ink drawings. One such work was purchased by the Worcester Art Museum for their permanent collections and is displayed on a rotating basis.
His widow, who now resides at The Meadows in Rochdale, said her husband relished teaching and loved his students and sharing his love of art with them. When asked what he enjoyed most about teaching art, Carol said “the fact that he could get his students to express themselves through art.”
“My husband couldn’t be any more perfect, and that’s a hard thing to say.”
