Conversation with

Dr. Charles Lucas, ‘55.

If you are talking about athletes at De La Salle with Dr. Charles Lucas, DLS Class of 1955, you should be cautious to exercise the correct language. “It’s student athletes, with an emphasis on student,” he says enthusiastically. Dr. Lucas should know. He personifies what it means for a Pilot to utilize athletic experiences as a means to learn the lessons of hard work, discipline, teamwork, and leadership. A letterman in three DLS sports, Dr. Lucas has been a Medical School faculty member at Wayne State University since 1967, and a practicing surgeon since 1968, gaining legendary status within the medical community. He is one of four siblings who graduated from De La Salle. And all four earned Doctorate degrees in their fields: Jack (‘47) in Dentistry, Bob (‘48) in Medicine, and Bill (‘51) in Mathematics. Recently, “Charlie,” the youngest, arranged for the Varsity Locker Room to be named in honor of the four Lucas brothers.

What an extraordinary accomplishment. Four boys who became doctors in different disciplines. Medicine, Math, Dentistry. You’ve chosen to honor them for their dedication to hard work and their career accomplishments. What led you to choose the locker room?

At De La Salle you become a whole person. The emphasis on scholarly activity and prowess must always be emphasized at a school like DLS. Athletics are a portion of this growth of a person that helps them achieve their ultimate destiny whatever that is. The term “locker room” really does not reflect the wonderful training for student athletes who use the discipline of athletics to enhance their scholastic endeavors.

Tells us about your family, and your brothers.

My parents were from farming families in Ontario, not far from Toronto. They were very modest people. They emigrated to Detroit, and my dad went to work in a factory. We lived on Glenfield, just a mile from the school. My brothers and I all attended St. David’s, and all four of us attended De La Salle, and then we all went to the University of Detroit. Jack lettered in football, basketball, and baseball. After graduation, he was the only member of his University of Detroit dental class to have gotten into dental school in two years. He graduated number one in his class. Jack went into the armed services at the end of dental school, which was good, because we had helped pay his tuition for dental school, and now the service would take care of it. Jack passed away in May (2014). My brother Bob lettered in football, basketball, and track. The Detroit Free Press came out with a series in the 1950’s about the ten best athletes in the history of the school; Bob was one of their selections. Although I’ve never seen it in print, I’ve been told Bob was chosen the best all-around athlete in his class. He was definitely a man for all seasons. Bob attended Wayne State University for med school. He went into the service after his internship, and spent a year on the faculty at Wayne before going into general surgery. He is a retired physician and lives in Royal Oak. I believe the school records show that Bill may have received as many as twelve varsity letters. He lettered in football, basketball, track, and rowing. He was also selected as the best all-around athlete in his class. He received his master’s degree in Math and Physics within five years at the University of Detroit, prior to getting his doctorate with special emphasis in game theory. After obtaining his doctorate, he became a renowned world-class mathematician whose works are included in the Encyclopedia Brittannica. If you look him up on Google, you’ll see some of his publications. Bill was a professor at Cornell for many years, before his death in 2010.

Dr. Charles Lucas

The Lucas Brothers (L. to R.); Bill, Charlie, Bob and Jack.

I lettered in football, basketball, and track. I’ve been told I was chosen the best all-around athlete in my class, but I’ve never seen such a list. At De La Salle, tuition was $75 a year. I paid for my tuition from my paper route. At U. of D. I counted every penny. It was $288.50 per semester. My first year of med school was $501, and the second year was $551.

You’re the youngest in the family. What led you into medicine?

I didn’t know I was going to be a doctor, let alone a surgeon. When I started at the University of Detroit, I was in pre-med because my brother Jack, who was like a third parent, said, “Look here. Pre-med has philosophy, English, different sciences, math. If you go into that program, you can branch into anything you want.” Next thing you know, I’m in a three-year pre-med curriculum. In my third year, Bob Zink, Class of ‘54, who was a year ahead of me, said, “Did you sign up for the MCAT?” I didn’t know what the MCAT was! Bob said well it’s this Saturday - I’ll pick you up, and we’ll go take the test. So I took the test, and we were supposed to write down the names of medical schools where we wanted the results sent. I didn’t know of any, so I put wrote down Wayne State. Then I got called into an interview with the Wayne med school dean. He asked where else I had applied. I said only Wayne. He said, “You’re putting all your eggs in one basket.” I said, “Well, I can’t afford those other baskets, so if you don’t take me this year, I’ll apply next year. I wasn’t being funny. I was serious.” I finished med school at Wayne, and stayed on. It’s the largest medical school in the country.

You’re an active surgeon, on call every 3 days. You’re supervising residents. Your resume lists hundreds of papers and conferences. Do you ever slow down?

No. I’m lucky to do what I do. I say I’m a hand surgeon - I do surgery on anything I can get my hands on! I do surgeries at either Receiving or Harper, in the Detroit Medical Center. I present maybe four lectures a semester, but my classroom is really the bedside of a patient, with a couple of residents. Each Sunday and Thursday mornings, I have table discussions at either Receiving or Harper Hospitals, with about 12 residents. I try to prep the residents for their yearly exams and challenge the students on their knowledge of the patient. To get them to the point where they don’t know the answer. Where they have to use their observations and give me their best guess.

What memories stand out from your high school years?

Br. Bernardine (later Br. Joe Loewenstein, who is now at Bethlehem University) was my favorite teacher. I had him for French in my junior year. He taught me that the purpose of education is the acquisition of knowledge. I talk about him many times in my own teaching. That education isn’t about the money. It’s the acquisition of knowledge. That’s what it’s all about. School was like family. My classmates were like family. The teachers, mostly brothers, were like parents. They had the interests of the family at heart. Even when you did stupid things, they still treated you like a son, and they wanted you to do well.