A Service of Witness to the Resurrection and a Service of Celebration for the Life of Cloria Lucas
October 3, 1928 - April 16, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013 2:00 p.m.

PRELUDE

On Eagle's Wings

Isaiah 40:31

CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. People: Our Lord is the Lord of Life, giving us hope in the face of death. Leader: In God, we have our hope and healing. People: Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever.

PRAYER OF INVOCATION

HYMN NO. 526

For All the Saints

OLD TESTAMENT READINGS Genesis 2:4 Psalm 8

NEW PESTAMENT READINGS John 14:1-6 Revelation 21:15

SERMON

The Rev. Robert M. Watkins

REMEMBRANCE OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS Malikah Lucas-Green, granddaughter Melba Ramsey, niece Tricia Glenn, friend

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING, COMMENDATION and THE LORD'S PRYER

HYMN NO. 280 Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound

BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE

A Mighty Fortress

Martin Luther

The Congregation is invited to remain after the service for a reception in the Church Parlor.

Participants in the Service The Rev. Robert M. Watkins
Anne Fetters, organist

I lie I i >K11 is mv shepheid. I shall ih >I want I k* makcth me l<> lie down in green pastmes
lie leaded) me beside (lie slid waleis I le restoreth my soul
he leadeth me m the paths of righteousness lor his name's sake.
,) ea, though I walk through the valley o f the shadow ol death. I will fear no evil: for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence o f mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days o f my life:
and I will dwell in the house o f the Lord for ever.
~ Psalm 23

Gloria Ramsey Lucas
AUGUSTA, Ga. - Gloria Ramsey Lucas went to her heavenly father on Tuesday,
April 1 6 , 2013 at the age of 84. S he wa s preceded in death by her parents Walter Ram sey, Sr. and Gladys Eulin Ramsey and brother Walter Ram sey, Jr. Lov ing mother of Charles (Karen) Moore, Kim Moore, Ramsey Moore and Grant (Traci) LucaS. Also.survived by
grandchildren M alikah Lucas-Green, Albert Lucas, Tam ara Moore, Charles Moore, Kara Moore, Ramsey Moore, Michael Moore, and one on the way; great-grand children; and nieces Melba Ramsey and Patricia Ramsey. A native of New York, NY, Gloria Was an elementary teacher in New York public sch o o ls for over 30 years. , She w as a graduate of Aril zona State University and ' I Hofstra University and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. After retiring she started a secon d career as a real estate broker before moving to Augusta, GA and following her true passion, genealogi
cal research. She published a book entitled, "Slave Records of Edgefield County, S.C." an abstract spanning 87
years of slave records. Gloria w as a member of the Old Edgefield District Genealogi
cal Society and the Augusta Genealogical Society, where She served as President. She was a Deacon and faithfully served the Lord at Covenant P re s b y te ria n C h u rc h 1n Augusta, GA. Gloria had a beautiful spirit, was generous of her time and had an exu berant love for life. She was a ! wonderful mother and will be dearly missed by her family and all who knew her. She will be interred with her par ents at Maple Grove Cem etery in Queens* NY in July. A memorial service j's being planned to celebrate her life on June 8, 2013 at 2 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Augusta. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Augusta Genea logical Society. .
Sign the guestbook at
A u g u sta C h ro n ic le .c c irn /o b its
The Augusta Chronicle-May 19,20t&.

Genealogist Gloria Lucas leaves legacy
By Wesley Brown Staff Writer Monday, May 20, 2013
For nearly two centuries, the names of Gloria Lucas' ancestors were lost in time along with tens of thousands of other slaves who worked the sugar and cotton fields of South Carolina and Georgia to make fortunes for their owners.
FILE/STAFF Gloria Lucas' (right) passion for genealogy led her to put together a comprehensive collection of slave records in Edgefield County.
Now, black families can follow the life of ancestors throughout the 19th century, thanks to a comprehensive collection of records from the Edgefield County Archives pertaining to the purchasing and selling of slaves.
The award-winning work - captured in the book Slave Records o f Edgefield County - is Lucas' legacy, close friends and associates said Monday of the local historian, who died at age 84 last month.
"It was groundbreaking," said county archivist Tricia Glenn, who helped Lucas compile the 87year abstract on slave records. "Before Gloria's book, local slave records only went back to the 1870 Census."
Glenn said residents have access to ledgers of estates, wills, inventories, appraisals, deed transfers, sheriff sales and other files that contain about 29,000 listings and more than 58,000 slave names. Many of the records provide gender, age, physical description, occupation and family relationships.
Researching her roots became a passion for Lucas around 2006, after the New York native retired and moved to Augusta to use her skills as a former public school teacher and real estate broker to enter the field of genealogical research.

Jule Rucker, a member of the Augusta Genealogical Society's Historical Records Committee, said Lucas "stepped right into the role," spending countless hours each week researching Rich mond County probate records and Edgefield estate sales.
Much of the time, estimated at four days a week some months, was spent in Edgefield County, where Glenn said Lucas found "discovered archives filled with slave records" and decided to expand her data collecting to all blacks purchased and sold in the area.
"Gloria's work was characterized by the true historian's penchant for accuracy and relevancy," said Joyce Law, who worked closely with Lucas as a volunteer at Adamson Library. "Above all, Mrs. Lucas strived to show the links of the human network."
Lucas was later elected president of the Augusta Genealogical Society and made guest appearances on TV shows, held college workshops and donated about 300 funeral service programs that became the fountainhead of the online collection by East Central Georgia Library System. Similar databases have been duplicated across the country.
"She was very a cultured and knowledgeable woman," Rucker said. "She was a real go-getter."
A memorial is planned at 2 p.m. June 8 at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Augusta. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the genealogical society.
"She certainly had a mind of her own," Glenn said. "She had lots of energy, was very spirited and fully passionate about any project she started."
Law agreed with Glenn's words that the world may never again find another Gloria Lucas.
"Gloria wanted to know her family's heritage and those of whom she met. No one remained a stranger," Law said. "Many a researcher talk of their book and work in process. Mrs. Lucas completed her gifts to the people."