James Francis Lacey

James Lacey Obituary
James (Jim) Francis Lacey, 90, passed away at home on August 28, 2024. From his book, Serendipity: Impromptu Reflections, he records “I grew up in Brooklyn in the Golden Age before the beloved Dodgers left for Tinseltown.  Taking the subway to school from my parents’ walk-up apartment in Bay Ridge, I became the victim of a classical education under the auspices of the Jesuits at Brooklyn Prep and St. Peter’s College, where I majored in philosophy, English, and (well, almost) mathematics.  After a year at the University of Bern with a Swiss government grant, I was the first teaching assistant in the English department at Boston College.  With an M.A. almost in hand, I did a stint as an artillery officer at Fort Benning, Georgia, returned to New York to marry Bobbi, the love of my life, then got a job teaching English at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, and began to take graduate courses at NYU.  After a year of research in Germany and (finally!) finishing my Ph.D., I found a home at Eastern Connecticut State College, where I initiated an American Studies program, chaired the English department, and, during my final ten years there, directed the honors program.  Barbara and I celebrated our 65th wedding anniversary in 2023.  We have two children, Christopher and Elizabeth, both with doctorates in the sciences and eight grandchildren. . .”  In conclusion, Jimmy says he lived a life, however flawed.  “I have loved, I have cherished friends, I have gladly learned and gladly taught.  If I have any advice to offer my children and grandchildren, it is to enjoy the good things and not regret those that might have been.  I am indeed fortunate to have shared with a loving wife and family so much joy during our brief sojourn together under the sun.”

There are no calling hours and burial will be private.


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