Ralph D. Lancaster, 76, of Palm Coast died June 10, 2015.

Mr. Lancaster was formerly a reporter, then state desk editor, and then city editor, of the Greenboro (N.C.) News-Record. During his tenure at the Greensboro News-Record, Mr. Lancaster won the prestigious National Headliners Award and the Scripps-Howard Memorial Award for Journalism. He also won 11 North Carolina Press Association Awards, and a Commendation from the Secretary of State for a series he wrote on fraudulent investments.

A Native of Greenville, N.C., Mr. Lancaster was a graduate of the American Press Institute at Columbia University in New York, and a graduate of the Bank School of Marketing at Northwestern University in Illinois. He joined the Greensboro paper immediately after serving a four year tour of duty in the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1967, he left the newspaper to join Wachovia Bank of North Carolina where he was Vice President, Marketing, for seven years.

Upon leaving Wachovia, he came to Daytona Beach and served as Executive Vice President of Heritage Federal Savings Bank for three years. While in Daytona, he also served as President of Coastline Enterprises, Inc., developers of the Woodmere and Northbrook developments in Ormond Beach. He was also instrumental in developing the Countryside project in the Port Orange area. While in Daytona Beach, Mr. Lancaster also served as President of Southern Mortgage Services and Southern Financial Services, both in Daytona Beach, and as a Board member of the Salvation Army and Coastline Enterprises.

Under his direction, the Heritage Classic Auto Show, the first antique auto show to ever be held at Daytona International Speedway, was inaugurated. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Financial Institutions Marketing Association, the national trade group for financial institutions marketing specialists.
He left Daytona Beach in 1978 to accept the position of Executive Vice President of First Western Bank in Las Vegas, NV. In 1980, he became President of First Colony Savings Bank in North Carolina and, in 1981, he returned to Daytona Beach, and formed his own company, The Lancaster Group, specializing in financial institutions consulting services. He sold The Lancaster Group to a North Carolina group in 2003, and became Chairman of the Board of the company.

He is survived by his wife, Sandra J. Lancaster of Palm Coast; two sons, Ralph D. Lancaster, Jr., of Orlando, and Dr. Jeffrey A. Lancaster of Brookfield, WI; one daughter, Julie D. Cowan of Warkworth, New Zealand; and one grandson, Liam. A Memorial Service will be held at Lohman Funeral Home Palm Coast on Monday, June 15, 2015 at 11:00am. Inurnment at Daytona Memorial Park will be at a later date.