Richard Charles Lucian

Richard Charles Lucian August 30, 1940 - October 18, 2025 Cold Spring Harbor, NY Richard Charles Lucian was born to Galileo and Catherine Lucian, who were hardworking small business owners, running a laundry service in New York City. He is survived by his son Richard James Lucian, daughter-in-law Lauren Lucian, his grandson Clayton Richard Lucian, and his sister-in-law Patricia Hasbrouck. He is predeceased by his parents Galileo and Catherine, his wife Joan, and his daughter Holly. His extended family through his son’s marriage includes James and Bonnie Gallo, Andrew and Ashleigh Gallo, and their four children Lillian, Aubrey, James, and Henry. Dr. Lucian was a beloved physics professor at Nassau Community College in Garden City, NY for 40 years. He loved physics and science and would often answer simple questions with hour long answers detailing the physics of what made it happen. He loved animals, caring for them with such devotion. This devotion was shared with Joan, his wife of 47 years. Early in their marriage they lived in an apartment over an animal hospital where they volunteered, caring for the animals there. They later fostered animals, of course adopting many of them into their home. Richard was very committed to long-distance running, competing in many marathons throughout the East Coast, as well as 50K races, and even a 50 mile race. He left this world on October 18 (his wife’s birthday) doing just this - what he loved, jogging and adding miles to his lifelong mileage total. He loved sports and especially loved the Dodgers, bleeding Dodger Blue as a young boy for the Brooklyn Dodgers and throughout adulthood for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The last game he watched was a historic league clinching Dodgers victory the very night before he passed away. More than anything, he absolutely loved his family and friends. In every decision he made, he would put the best interest of his family first. Wherever he went, he talked about them so proudly, often repeating stories about them over and over. Richard was an extremely special man and was the epitome of selflessness, constantly putting others above himself, often to his own detriment. He has left an everlasting impression of kindness, gentleness, and patience upon those he met. Simply put, he is irreplaceable, and will be sorely missed by everyone he met along his journey.