Harriet McLucas, 85, community worker
Harriet Dewey McLucas, a passionate supporter of environmental and social causes, died May 5 of pulmonary failure in her home at the Fairfax retirement community near Fort Belvoir. She was 85.
Mrs. McLucas was born in San Antonio in 1923, and spent her youth traveling the world as an Army brat. She graduated from Wheaton College of Massachusetts with a degree in economics in 1945. She moved to Northern Virginia in 1959 and later earned a master’s degree in therapeutic recreation from George Washington University.
She worked and volunteered at a variety of area organizations, including Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, Arlington County Youth Employment Service, Achievement Rewards for College Scientists, Wider Opportunities for Women, Annandale Christian Community for Action, American Horticultural Society and Girl Scouts of America. She served as a deacon at the Presbyterian Meeting House in Alexandria and gave years of PTA support.
She was passionate about the arts, traveled extensively around the globe and was an avid photographer. She was committed to protecting the environment and assisting immigrants, especially those from Latin America. During her last year of life, she began teaching English as a second language.
Mrs. McLucas endowed a special scholarship in environmental science at Wheaton College. She helped start a local nonprofit organization, Prospera Initiatives, to run after-school programs in literacy and leadership to enable Hispanic youths to reach their full potential.
Her first marriage to Frederick H. Black Jr., a career Army officer, ended in divorce in 1972. In 1981, she married John McLucas, secretary of the Air Force and administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in the Ford administration. He died in 2003.
Survivors include five children from her first marriage, Matthew Black of Seattle, Bruce Black of Yardley, Pa., Elizabeth Black of Arlington, Beverly Roca of Haymarket, Va., and Robert Black of Alexandria; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
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