- Date Of Birth: November 9, 1951
- Date Of Death: January 5, 2022
- State: North Carolina
Virgil Solomon Lucas, Jr. was known to friends and family as Sol, in deference to his dad who was known as Virgil. Sol grew up in Goldsboro and Charlotte, and attended UNC-CH where he ultimately earned a Pharmaceutical Doctorate. He started his career at Duke Hospital working with cancer patients, then moved to Burroughs Wellcome, and stayed when it merged with Glaxo, and through several other mergers which resulted in GlaxoSmithKline. His work was in oncology drug development and pain management in cancer patients. For this purpose, he traveled extensively and became a “million miler” on American Airlines. He ended his career doing consulting work for companies developing potential oncology pharmaceuticals.
Sol was a beloved father, grandfather and husband. He celebrated 45 years of marriage in 2021 with his wife Diane, and always enjoyed seeing his sons, grandsons and daughter-in-law. His later years were hobbled by disabilities, but he never failed to thank those who helped him do tasks he could no longer do. The Lord took Sol into his care on January 5th, and though he will be greatly missed, his spirit is finally free.
Sol is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Diane Lucas; sons, Jeffrey Lucas and Andrew Lucas; and sister, Phyllis Youngberg.