Allderdice teen killed at North Hills Village recalled as good kid who made others smile

It seems that anyone who knew Christopher X. Lucas remembers how the young man made them laugh.

Christopher’s sense of humor and infectious smile are the things that stood out for friends and family when asked what they remember most about the 15-year-old ninth grader at Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh.

The Brighton Heights teenager was killed Saturday afternoon when he was hit by a car in the parking lot of the North Hills Village shopping plaza along McKnight Road in Ross Township. He was dead at the scene.

“He was a brilliant, funny kid that was just starting out,” said his father, Joseph. “He was just beginning to find himself. He had just started high school in August and loved to go to school.”

Christopher’s mother, Dina, said he loved Allderdice and had a great relationship with his teachers.

“He was just beginning to learn an adult world and I think he was excited for it,” she said.

A statement released by Pittsburgh Public Schools referred to Lucas as a young man with a one-of-a-kind personality.

“Christopher was known as an unconventionally funny young man who loved a good joke,” the statement read. “He is remembered for his kind heart, strong will to learn and a love for drawing cartoons. He will be missed by all who knew him.”

Christopher’s mother said he loved the art of drawing cartoons and that his sense of humor was shaped by being a “realist.”

“He loved SpongeBob SquarePants,” Dina Lucas said. “He loved the artistic aspect of it. It would air and it would be about the way they drew the trees. He knew a lot about the designs.”

Joseph Lucas said he thought his son was going to end up being a lawyer.

“He knew about copyright law. I’m a lawyer, and he would sit here and tell me about public domain,” he said. “He wanted to be in show business, whatever aspect it was going to take. Christopher wasn’t an athlete.

”Christopher was the kid who was going to be creative. He just had his own humor and he was artistic. “He actually made up his own comics with a cast of characters that he made up called ‘Skippy and Friends.’”

Christopher eventually built an audience for his self-produced movie shorts on his own YouTube video channel.

“He would go out and make his own five minute movies using his toys as characters and post them on YouTube.”

Christopher’s dad said his son’s ambition was to have his own TV show, and that his idol was Muppets creator Jim Henson.

“We made a joke today that he was up in Heaven telling Jim Henson stuff that Jim Henson didn’t know about himself,” he said. “That’s who he wanted to be. He wanted to grow up and be like Jim Henson.”

On Tuesday morning as they filed into the school, Allderdice students who knew Christopher smiled as they shared their memories of him. Ninth grader Cassidy Givens, 14, was in some of the same classes with Christopher.

“He was a nice kid. He was real bubbly and happy-go-lucky,” Cassidy said. “He really liked making jokes about SpongeBob. He would draw SpongeBob on the board and stuff and he was really good at drawing. I feel bad because I miss him. He was a good kid.”

Junior Keyasia Harrison, 16, was in a Spanish class with Christopher and remembered him as an easy-going kid.

“I’d never seen him be upset. He was always smiling and laughing and just having a good time,” Keyasia said. “It’s really sad. I’m going to miss him. He was great to be around. He was a joy.”

Junior Mickayla Anderson, 16, took a visual communications class with Christopher. She said she was going to miss him a lot.

“He was a good friend. He was a pretty funny guy. I feel pretty sad but I’m just trying to go on,” Mickayla said.

Junior Kristian Taylor Thomas, 17, said although she didn’t have any classes with Christopher she got to know him pretty well.

“He’s a nice, kind person. He made me laugh,” she said. “I will miss him 100% because he was someone I was close with throughout the whole journey here.”

Christopher’s father said his son was not only popular with his classmates but his teachers as well.

“At the parent/teacher conference they all were telling me about how they loved him and how he would draw SpongeBob at the end of math class on the chalkboard and the teacher would leave it there so when the kids came in the next morning they would see it. And they talked about how good it was,” he said.

Joseph Lucas went on to say that Christopher wanted to join the theater club at Allderdice but that he encouraged his son to get involved with the mock trial club.

“We explained to him that in mock trial the witnesses had to act, and he was interested in doing that. That was his strong suit.”

Dina Lucas said her son had a “heart that was unbelievable. He loved with every inch of himself.”

Christopher’s loves included his family and their two dogs — a pit bull and a Jack Russell terrier.

In addition to his father and mother, Christopher is survived by his brother Nathaniel, and many aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and pets. He was preceded in death by grandparents George and Julia Lucas, and Jose and Catherine Serpa.

Family and friends will be received on Wednesday from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Thomas P. Kunsak Funeral Home, 3552 California Ave. at Davis Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday at 10 a.m. in St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish.