Lawrence W. Rucker; School Board President

Lawrence William Rucker, an advocate of student and minority rights as president of the Antelope Valley Union High School District, has died in Lancaster. He was 58.

Flags at the district office and at its seven high schools have flown at half-staff since Wednesday, when Rucker died of cancer.

Born Feb. 21, 1932, in Evansville, Ind., Rucker served in the Air Force from 1951 to 1955, and then he worked in civilian jobs at Shelby Air Force Depot in Shelby, Ohio, and in contract management for the General Electric Co. in Syracuse, N.Y. before becoming an administrator at Edwards Air Force Base. In 1975, he became director of procurement and contracting at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration operation at Edwards. In 1985, he started a government contract consulting business.

He was first elected to the school board in 1981. As a member, he objected to a dress code contained in the district’s anti-gang policy as racially discriminatory when it came up for a vote in February and also fought against the elimination of school lockers, said fellow board member E. Jarold Wright. The dress code and locker elimination measures passed anyway. He was sympathetic to minority causes and often spoke at Black Awareness Day on campus, Wright said.

Rucker earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Syracuse University in 1962 and a master’s degree in business administration from Golden Gate University in 1971.

He was director and vice president in the mid-1980s of the Antelope Valley YMCA and was on the board of directors for the Desert Haven Training Center, a school for the handicapped. He was active in the Antelope Valley chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, United Way, the California School Board Assn. and the Coalition of California Black School Board Members.

He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Fran; sons Monte Rucker of Buena Park and Bruce Rucker, Ronald Rucker and Lawrence Rucker II of Lancaster; and daughters Lisa Rucker of Northridge and Terri Rucker of Lancaster.

A funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Growing Valley Baptist Church, 44818 N. 20th St. W., Lancaster. Burial will follow at Joshua Memorial Park. Donations can be made in Rucker’s name to the United Way, Antelope Valley Region, or the American Cancer Society’s Sierra High Desert Unit.