Lucas Guo-Jing Pancoast

Lucas Guo-Jing Pancoast passed away suddenly in the Kettle River on July 20, 2025. He lived in Kettle Falls, Wash. Lucas was 18 years old.

Lucas was born on December 8, 2006, and was adopted into the Pancoast family in China on June 5, 2017. Lucas was an outstanding Irish dancer and recently won the 2024 Western USA Regional Oireachtas which qualified him for the upcoming World Championships. He studied dance for eight years at Haran School of Irish Dance in Kettle Falls under the guidance of Claire Worley.

He began studying piano with his mother when he came to the United States and rapidly became an accomplished pianist. This spring, for the 2025 Washington State Music Teacher Associations Music Artistry Program’s Honor Recital, he was selected to play Kuhlau’s Allegro from Sonatina Opus 55, Number 1.

Lucas was an easy-going young man who always had a ready smile and a helping hand for all around him. He was very teachable and learned quickly due to his genuine openness to instruction.  He was a high school student who had enrolled in the early college program, Running Start, for the fall of 2025. He was also a licensed driver and an amazing human being.

Lucas loved to spend time with his family.  He loved to fish and swim with his brothers.  He loved to play card games and showed good sportsmanship, win or lose. Watching movies or playing outside in any form brought smiles to his face. He never gave up when trying to talk with people that he knew even though it was difficult with his deafness and cochlear implants. He also liked working out with his brothers, petting cats and dogs, telling jokes, and enjoyed hobbies such as drawing art, juggling, learning magic tricks from his older brother, riding a bike, reading comic magazines, and just simply chatting and playing video games with his brothers.

Lucas enjoyed his life in America and said that it was better than being orphaned in China. He loved to serve in the Journey with Christ community and was going to youth direct in November of 2025. The message he wanted everyone to hear was “Trust in the Lord” and that was his chosen theme for the upcoming youth retreat.

Lucas is survived by his parents, Tedric and Brandy, his siblings, David, Jonathan, Amalie, Sophie, Opal, Connor, Webster, and Mia, and a large extended family including grandparents Robert and Valerie Richartz, uncles and aunts Dorian Canelas, Dustin and Kindra Richartz, Nicholas and Alison Richartz, and cousins Andrew and Kaitlyn Canelas, Daniel, Jake, Kylee, and Piper Richartz.

The funeral service for Lucas Pancoast will begin at 11 a.m., Saturday, August 9, at the First Baptist Church in Colville, Wash. A niche placement at the Mountain View Park Cemetery will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Haran Dancers (by mailing checks with Lucas Pancoast on the memo line to 1981 Rickey Canyon Road, Rice, WA 99167) or the Journey with Christ (online at journeywithchrist.org) in Lucas’ memory. Please visit the online memorial and sign the guestbook at danekasfuneralchapel.com. Danekas Funeral Chapel and Crematory is entrusted with the arrangements.