Former statewide board member Stacy dies
The NCCF board and staff are saddened by the death of Horace Stacy, who passed away Saturday.
Mr. Stacy was the founder of our Robeson County Community Foundation, a past NCCF statewide board member and the 2006 recipient of the Lewis R. Holding Philanthropic Leadership Award. “Horace was a true gentleman who cared about his community,” said NCCF CEO Jennifer Tolle Whiteside in an emabil to NCCF board members.
Mr. Stacy was featured on our website for his work in Robeson County. Details of his services and a copy of the obituary are below and also linked here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary-search.aspx?affiliateId=1878&firstname=Horace&lastname=Stacy&stateid=33
September 15, 1929 – November 21, 2015
Lumberton
Horace Edney Stacy, Jr., age 86, died in Lumberton, N.C. on Saturday, November 21, 2015. A memorial service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church on Tuesday, November 24th at 2:00 p.m. followed by a visitation with the family. The only son of Horace E. Stacy and Lillian Cook Stacy and a lifelong resident of Lumberton, he was born on September 15, 1929, his mother’s 28th birthday. Mr. Stacy was educated in the Lumberton City Schools and at UNC- Chapel Hill where he graduated with an AB degree in English in 1950. While at UNC, he was chairman of the Men’s Honor Council, a member of Phi Gamma Delta, and was inducted into the Order of the Golden Fleece. After one semester of law school at UNC, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in early 1951 and attended the Air Force language school at Syracuse University before being stationed in Germany as a language specialist. Following his service, he came back to Chapel Hill and received his law degree in 1956. While in law school he was a member of the staff of the North Carolina Law Review. Mr. Stacy returned to Lumberton and began the practice of law with his long time friend, Dickson McLean, Jr., in the firm of McLean and Stacy where his father and Dickson’s father had been in partnership for nearly 35 years. The two friends who were roommates at UNC practiced law together for 45 years until Mr. Stacy’s retirement from the firm in 2002. He retained his law license and continued a part time practice until 2012.
A devoted member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Mr. Stacy served for many years as a teacher, layreader, and vestryman and also served as Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina from 1980-1990. In 1965, the N.C. State Bar appointed him to the Board of Law Examiners where he served for 23 years, five of those as chairman. He is a past member of the National Conference of Bar Examiners and in 2002 was honored by the N.C. State Bar by his induction into the General Practice Hall of Fame. In 2012 he received the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award from the N.C. State Bar and was also a Life Fellow of the American Bar Association. Long a civic leader in his community, Mr. Stacy served as past president of the Lumberton Jaycees, chair of Southeastern / Health Foundation and the Friends of the Robeson County Public Library. He was a trustee of the library for 17 years as well as a member and former chair of the N.C. State Library Commission. Also a founding member of the Robeson County Community Foundation, Mr. Stacy was a recipient of the Louis B. Holding Award from the N.C. Community Foundation and served as a member of that board. In 2005 he was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
A strong supporter of UNC- Chapel Hill, Mr. Stacy was a past Vice- President of the General Alumni Association, a member of the Board of Visitors, and for some 30 years served on Morehead Scholarship Committees. He also relished the time he spent cheering for his beloved Tar Heels at many ball games in Chapel Hill. With deep affection for his family and fellow man and a kind unassuming nature, Mr. Stacy served his communities in a very special way.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Joan Purser Stacy, whom he met at Chapel Hill, his children, Robin Stacy Melvin and her husband Brinkley, Jody Stacy Layne and her husband Steve, all of Chapin, S.C., Walter Mark Stacy of Ocean Isle Beach N.C., and two sisters, Louise S. Reams of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Marilyn S. Collins of Charlotte, N.C., and six beloved grandsons, Parker Brinkley Melvin and his wife Elizabeth, Mark Robinson Melvin, Michael Stacy Melvin, Steven Walker Layne, Greer Kinsman Layne, and William Tripp Layne.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, 1202 N. Chestnut St., Lumberton, N.C. 28358, the Robeson County Public Library, P.O. Box 988, Lumberton, N.C. 28359, Southeastern/ Health Foundation, P.O. Box 1408, Lumberton N.C. 28359, or the Robeson County Community Foundation, P.O. Box 991, Wilmington, N.C. 28402. ( Funds sent to Wilmington will be returned for use in Robeson County.)