Paul A. Lacey

RICHMOND, Ind. – Paul A. Lacey, age 82, of Richmond, Indiana, died Wednesday, January 18, 2017, at Friends Fellowship Community. Paul A. Lacey was born on March 15, 1934, in Philadelphia. He received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. At age 18, Paul joined the Religious Society of Friends, an experience that was to shape the rest of his life as activist, educator, scholar, writer, family man, and friend. In 1954, he began a lifelong relationship with the American Friends Service Committee, an international peace and social justice organization. Paul served on various committees over the years, most recently as Clerk of the Board of Directors and Clerk of the Corporation from 2001-2009. He was a professor of literature at Earlham College from 1960-2001, where he shared with generations of students a love of W.B. Yeats, Denise Levertov, William Carlos Williams, and the Romantics. Paul remained a lifelong student as well, seeking out and sharing new writers, in particular artists from historically under-represented communities. His books include The Inner War, an analysis of several contemporary poets; Growing into Goodness, a collection of essays exploring the history of Quaker education; The Unequal World We Inhabit: Quaker Responses to Terrorism and Fundamentalism; and We Learn to Swim in Winter, a collection of his poems. As the literary executor for Denise Levertov, Paul co-edited (with Anne Dewey) Levertov’s Collected Poems, her final volume. He received numerous awards for his teaching and Quaker service, and he found the attention uniformly embarrassing; he always believed he was falling short of the example set by colleagues and institutions he admired. Paul’s Quaker witness also found expression in an eagerness to be confidante, champion, and cheerleader for students and colleagues alike. This support often included an invitation to the family home for a meal. Gathered around a dining table covered with Margie’s delicious cooking, everyone was free to shape the conversation. It might range from the politics of the day, to Austen’s Emma, to the etymology of the word “prairie”, to an observation drawn from Calvin & Hobbes (“snoogy woogy wips”). Paul is survived by his wife, Margaret Smith Lacey of Richmond; daughter, Mary Lacey (Tony Bohnert) of Richmond; son, Patrick Lacey (Bill Grant) of New York; sister, Elaine Schock (Tom Plunkett) of Philadelphia; treasured in-laws and out-laws; nieces and nephews; grand-nieces and grand-nephews; honorary grandchildren; and a world full of friends. He felt fortunate to make so many new friends at Friends Fellowship Community, and his family is grateful for the mixture of skill and loving kindness shown by FFC’s staff, who sustained him in life and ushered him gently into death. He is preceded in death by his parents; brother and sister-in-law, Ed and Kate White of Philadelphia; sister-in-law, Evelyn Mavromichalis of Cleveland; and son, James Lacey of Richmond. A memorial service after the manner of Friends will be arranged by his family and Earlham College at a time and place still to be determined. There will be no public visitation. Arrangements are being handled by Doan & Mills Funeral Home, 790 National Road West, Richmond. Memorial contributions may be made in Paul’s name to area food pantries; The Earlham Fund, Drawer 193, 801 National Road West, Richmond, IN 47374-4095; or the American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.doanmillsfuneralhome.com.

Paul A. Lacey

March 15, 1934 - January 18, 2017