Francis Don Lucius was born on September 2, 1937, in Toro, Louisiana, to Lemuel Holiday Lucius and Julia Barker Lucius.

Don grew up in the Toledo Bend area. In 1956, when he was 18-years old, he joined the U.S. Army. He served two years in active service, and then in a reserve capacity until he was honorably discharged. If you knew Don after his military service, you can thank his time in the Army for his cooking skills. While on active duty, he served as a cook and later in life, his family looked forward to the delicious breakfasts he loved to prepare. He often made his grandkids wake up early to peel potatoes, but they didn’t mind because they knew Pawpaw would work his magic on those potatoes. Of course, every meal he cooked was big enough to feed an army.

On December 5, 1959, Don married Sandra Kirkpatrick. They were married for 57 years, until Sandra passed away in 2017. They had five children: Donna, David, Lynn, Julie, and Heather.

Don worked a number of different jobs throughout the years. He spent time as a construction worker, carpenter, cement truck driver, ambulance driver, police dispatcher, and many other lines of work. His life changed dramatically, though, in 1972 when he found his true calling. At that time, Don and his family lived across the street from the First United Pentecostal Church in DeQuincy. When a young evangelist preached a revival at the church, Don made a bold, and fateful, decision to attend a revival service. Before the service was even over, Don made his way down the aisle to the altar, was filled with the Holy Ghost, and committed his life fully to God. He truly became a new creature that day.

In 1987, Don received his local minister’s license with the United Pentecostal Church International. He received his general license in 1989, and later became ordained. Throughout the decades, Don and Sandra ministered across the country, helping build and establish churches in California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. They also pastored churches in several states. They loved God and they loved people. Sandra wrote children’s songs for Sunday School classes, and Don made and sold fudge, peanut brittle, and popcorn balls to fund the construction of church buildings. Don visited jails and had a heart of ministry for anyone who was in need. Although they never had much, all were welcome to join them for holiday meals. The desire to feed an army never left him.

Throughout his travels and ministries, Don always considered Rev. T.D. Cardwell, who had pastored the First United Pentecostal Church of DeQuincy when Don and Sandra first attended those revival services in 1972, as his pastor. No matter where the Lucius family traveled, Bro. Cardwell was a good shepherd to the family.

For the last seven years, Don was a resident of Rosepine Retirement & Rehabilitation Center in Rosepine, Louisiana. The nurses and staff were loving and kind to him and it was there, surrounded by his daughters, with the nurses and staff caring for him, that he passed away peacefully on November 10, 2021.

Don was preceded in death by his wife, Sandra Kirkpatrick Lucius; his parents, Lemuel Holiday Lucius and Julia Barker Lucius; his brothers, Milford Lucius, Murphy Lucius, LJ Lucius, Johnny Lucius, and Dean Lucius; and his sisters, Doris Walker and Shirley Smith.

Don is survived by his brother, Gene Lucius; his daughters, Donna Garcia (Oscar), Lynn Cooley (Wiley), Julie Parker (David), and Heather Goins (Gregory); and by his son, David Lucius. Don is also survived by 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, November 13, 2021, at Myers Colonial Funeral Home, with funeral services to immediately follow. Interment will follow at Lewis Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Ethan Cooley, Emmitt Goins, Oscar Garcia, III, Joshua Davis, Eli Riley, and Camron Parker-Nixon.