Marion Brunson “M.B.” Lucas, 90, passed away on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at The Medical Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Born on September 9, 1935, in Ward, South Carolina, M.B. was the son of the late Charles M. Lucas and Muriel Joyner Lucas. He was also preceded in death by his brother, Charles Lucas. M.B. is survived by his wife of 24 years, Alicia Allen; his three children, Amy Dennison and her husband, Steve, Susan Warren and her husband, Chuck, and Scott Lucas and his wife, Rosaline; and two step-children, Kim Skipworth and her husband Derek, and Coy Herschel Allen and his wife Jennifer, along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as friends, colleagues, and former students who benefited from his life and legacy. A dedicated scholar and beloved educator, M.B. studied at the University of South Carolina, where he earned his PhD in history in 1965.

His academic work centered on the Old South, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. For more than 40 years, he devoted himself to teaching at Western Kentucky University, where he inspired generations of students with his knowledge, wit, and love of history. He often said that one day he would go to “the great classroom in the sky,” a sentiment that reflected both his deep calling as a teacher and his sense of humor. M.B. was also an accomplished author.

Among his published works were Sherman and the Burning of Columbia and A History of Blacks in Kentucky. In recent years, he had been working on a biography of John G. Fee, the founder of Berea College in Kentucky. Above all, M.B. will be remembered as a generous, gracious, and loving husband and father. He was deeply committed to helping those around him and lived a life marked by kindness, intellect, and service. His presence will be greatly missed, and his legacy will continue in the lives of all who knew and loved him.

A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date. Bowling Green – Marion Brunson “MB” Lucas