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Lancaster had an interest in betting on [[horse]] races and was an inaugural ticket holder of the [[New Orleans Saints]] of the [[NFL]] and thereafter a dedicated fan. His affiliations include the Louisiana and Jefferson Parish bar associations, the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, the New Orleans Sports Foundation, the Southern Republican Exchange, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and the National Conference of State Legislators. He was also aa former president of the National Republican Legislators Association. Among his numerous legislative aides was the former state Representative Shirley Duvigneaud Bowler, also of Jefferson Parish.  A lifelong [[conservative]], Lancaster played a role in the  building of the Republican Party in Jefferson Parish and throughout the state. He chaired the influential House and Governmental Affairs Committee for twelve under two governors — one a Republican and one a Democrat. The committee reviews matters of elections, campaign finance, open meetings, public records, and redistricting and reapportionment. He long opposed the nonpartisan blanket primary, adopted in 1975, and often tried to pass legislation to return to closed party primaries. Earlier in 2018, he was inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame in Winnfield in North Louisiana, which began recognizing various state politicians in 1993.<ref name=obit/>

Lancaster had an interest in betting on [[horse]] races and was an inaugural ticket holder of the [[New Orleans Saints]] of the [[NFL]] and thereafter a dedicated fan. His affiliations include the Louisiana and Jefferson Parish bar associations, the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, the New Orleans Sports Foundation, the Southern Republican Exchange, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and the National Conference of State Legislators. He was also aa former president of the National Republican Legislators Association. Among his numerous legislative aides was the former state Representative Shirley Duvigneaud Bowler, also of Jefferson Parish.  A lifelong [[conservative]], Lancaster played a role in the  building of the Republican Party in Jefferson Parish and throughout the state. He chaired the influential House and Governmental Affairs Committee for twelve under two governors — one a Republican and one a Democrat. The committee reviews matters of elections, campaign finance, open meetings, public records, and redistricting and reapportionment. He long opposed the nonpartisan blanket primary, adopted in 1975, and often tried to pass legislation to return to closed party primaries. Earlier in 2018, he was inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame in Winnfield in North Louisiana, which began recognizing various state politicians in 1993.<ref name=obit/>

Lancaster died in his sleep in his Metairie home of a heart attack just over a month short of his 75th birthday. His obituary indicates that he had "a keen intellect, a larger than life personality, an incredible sense of humor, a hallmark laugh, and a love of good times with family and friends". He and his late wife, Edith "Patches" Shannon Lancaster, had two surviving children,  Edith Helen "Dee Dee" Lancaster and Charles D. Lancaster, III, and one grandson. His funeral mass will be held on August 24, 2018, at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. in New Orleans.<ref name=obit/>

Lancaster died in his sleep in his Metairie home of a heart attack just over a month short of his 75th birthday. His obituary indicates that he had "a keen intellect, a larger than life personality, an incredible sense of humor, a hallmark laugh, and a love of good times with family and friends". He and his late wife, Edith "Patches" Shannon Lancaster, had two surviving children,  Edith Helen "Dee Dee" Lancaster and Charles D. Lancaster, III, and one grandson. His funeral mass was held on August 24, 2018, at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. in New Orleans.<ref name=obit/>

[[Steve Scalise]], the current Majority Whip in the [[United States House of Representatives and the victim of a shooting by a deranged Democrat in 2017, was a protégé of Lancaster:  "Charlie took me under his wing when I got elected to the Louisiana Legislature in 1995, and he helped teach me how to build coalitions and get things done."<ref name=jpope>{{cite web|url=https://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/08/charles_lancaster_republican_s.html|title=Charles Lancaster, former GOP state lawmaker from Metairie dies at 74|publisher=''The New Orleans Times-Picayune''|date=August 18, 2018|author=John Pope|accessdate=August 22, 2018}}</ref>  Similarly, former state Representative Charles "Chuck" Cusimano, II,  a justice of the peace in Jefferson Parish and a former legislator said that Lancaster "probably did more for the Republican Party over the past thirty-five years than anyone else in the state."<ref name=jpope/>

[[Steve Scalise]], the current Majority Whip in the [[United States House of Representatives and the victim of a shooting by a deranged Democrat in 2017, was a protégé of Lancaster:  "Charlie took me under his wing when I got elected to the Louisiana Legislature in 1995, and he helped teach me how to build coalitions and get things done."<ref name=jpope>{{cite web|url=https://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/08/charles_lancaster_republican_s.html|title=Charles Lancaster, former GOP state lawmaker from Metairie dies at 74|publisher=''The New Orleans Times-Picayune''|date=August 18, 2018|author=John Pope|accessdate=August 22, 2018}}</ref>  Similarly, former state Representative Charles "Chuck" Cusimano, II,  a justice of the peace in Jefferson Parish and a former legislator said that Lancaster "probably did more for the Republican Party over the past thirty-five years than anyone else in the state."<ref name=jpope/>