Joyce Lacey

Joyce T. Lacey, of Falls Church, Virginia, passed away Tuesday, February 18, 2014, at Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia.

Born in Frost she was a daughter of the late William N. and Lou Verna Thomas. She lived in Minnehaha Springs in her early years.

Joyce graduated from Marlinton High School in 1950, and Fairmont University in 1954. She taught high school in Danville, Virginia, Arlington, Virginia, and McLean, Virginia.

She is survived by her husband of 56 years, David C. Lacey. David was a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department and his profession had them living in many countries including the Philippines, Germany, Thailand, Chile and Venezuela. Upon retirement, they moved to Falls Church, Virginia.

Joyce was a wonderful entertainer and a fabulous cook. To her family and friends, she was their “Julia Child” –– preparing food from many parts of the world. She enjoyed her flowers and many plants and was quite the “joke teller.” She learned the language of each country she and her husband lived in and was able to develop friendships throughout the local societies.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, William “French” Thomas; and two sisters, Helen Meo and Nellie Blye Smith.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by a brother, Jerry L. Thomas, and wife, Betty, of Seaford, Delaware; three nieces, Dr. Kandyce Meo, of Springfield, Ohio, Pamela Reising, and husband, Kenneth, of Beltsville, Maryland, and Paula Prager, and husband, Gregory, of Columbia, Maryland; a great-nephew, Sean P. Weatherford, a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; and a great-niece, Harli P. Reising, a freshman at Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. Interment will be in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.