Sen. Jeanne Hopkins Lucas
From the Senate President Pro Tempore's office:
“You couldn’t ask for a more compassionate public servant or more faithful friend than Jeanne Lucas. Her expertise and leadership in public education was of tremendous value to all of us, and we could always count on her common sense – not to mention her sense of humor – to help guide the Senate in its efforts to improve the quality of life for all North Carolinians. The Senate’s prayers are with all her family and friends at this time.”
Background:
Senator Jeanne H. Lucas, who passed away Friday evening, was serving her seventh full term in the North Carolina Senate. Senator Lucas was the first African-American woman to serve in the Senate and held the leadership post of Senate Majority Whip from 2003 to 2006. Born on December 25, 1935, the Durham Democrat was appointed to the Senate in 1993 to replace Senator Ralph Hunt and won her first Senate election in 1994. A retired educator and school system administrator, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from N.C. Central University. She is survived by her husband, William, and two sisters, Bertha Breese and Bernie David-Yerumo.
Details on funeral arrangements are as follows: The wake will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 16, at Union Baptist Church at 904 N. Roxboro Road in Durham, and a memorial service will be held at noon Saturday, March 17, at the same location. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Jeanne Hopkins Lucas Scholarship Fund, Mount Gilead Baptist Church, P.O. Box 11877, Durham, NC 27701. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family to Bernie David-Yerumo, P.O. Box 3366, Durham, NC 27702.
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