LUMBERTON — Longtime attorney Horace Edney Stacy Jr. is being remembered as a man committed to doing whatever was necessary to make his community a better place to live.
“He lived a great life and gave back to his community,” said David Weinstein, a former Lumberton mayor and state senator who once presented Stacy with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian award. “He was in the forefront of any progressive programs that would improve the lives of those in Lumberton and Robeson County, and he never tried to get publicity for his efforts. He never worked for glory.”
Stacy, 86, died on Saturday following a long illness.
A lifelong Lumberton resident, Stacy received his law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1956 after serving in the U.S. Air Force. He began his practice in Lumberton with his longtime friend Dickson McLean Jr. and continued to practice law on a full-time basis until his retirement in 2002 and a part-time basis until 2012.
“He was an outstanding gentleman, and as an attorney was one of the finest who has ever walked the halls of the Robeson County Courthouse,” said David Ramsaur, who practiced law in the same firm with Stacy. “He was a great mentor to me personally. … As busy as he was he always had time for people. His door was always open and he always had time to talk. He helped me to become a better lawyer in many ways.”
Bill McLean, another Stacy law partner, said that during the height of his career Stacy was the “balance wheel of the Robeson County Bar Association.”
“He would have made a good judge if he ever wanted to be one,” McLean said.
Stacy is especially remembered for his 17 years as a trustee of the Robeson County Public Library, as well as his serving as a past chairman of the Friends of the Robeson County Public Library and a former chairman of the N.C. State Library Commission. He served as chairman of the Southeastern Health Foundation and was a founding member of the Robeson County Community Foundation.
Bob Fisher, former director of the Robeson County Library system and close friend, said Stacy was always a strong advocate for improving the quality of library services available at both the county and state levels.
“He spent a lot of time working on renovating, expanding and improving the quality of the Robeson County Library,” Fisher said. “… He wanted to contribute to improvements that would offer the people of Robeson County new opportunities. He gave his all to projects he was involved with. He was on a board to contribute and not just fill a seat. When he said he was going to do something he would always follow through.”
Fisher and Stacy would often play golf together, go out to lunch, and travel together to Raleigh, Fayetteville and other places to advocate for libraries and improving literacy.
“I shared many great times with him just absorbing his philosophies,” Fisher said. “He also loved North Carolina football and basketball … I don’t know anyone who didn’t like him.”
Stacy was an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church, where he served for years as a teacher, lay reader and vestryman. He served as chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina from 1980 to 1990.
“I would consider him a religious man,” Fisher said. “Many times on our trips to Fayetteville and Raleigh we would talk religion, both up and back.”
Luckey Welsh, former CEO of Southeastern Regional Medical Center, said that he on many occasions sought counsel from Stacy on medical center issues.
“He always gave us competent advice,” Welsh said. “When he served as chairman of the Southeastern Health Foundation his commitment to the community was unsurpassed. He always accomplished so much with ease and with a confident demeanor. He was a very wise man.”
Last December, during the Robeson County Bar Association’s annual Buck Harris Dinner, Stacy was presented the North Carolina Bar Association’s prestigious John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award. The award came on the same day that former U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, a Lumberton native, rose on the House floor and had a tribute to Stacy placed in the Congressional Record.
During the Buck Harris Dinner, David F. Branch Jr., an attorney from Lumberton, said that if anyone deserves the title of “Mr. Lumberton” it is Stacy.
“Horace Stacy is one of the very great lawyers and men to have practiced law in the history of Robeson County. He epitomizes everything good and noble in our profession,” Branch said. “His fingerprints appear on countless charitable causes in our city, county and state. All Robesonians owe Horace a great deal of gratitude for all he has done to make our Bar, our community and the world a better place to live, work and raise our kids. My life has been blessed because of my association with Horace over the last three decades.”
A memorial service for Stacy will be held 2 p.m. today at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lumberton.
