Frederick Benjamin Lacey, Sr., age 68, died from his battle with cancer on October 15, 2018, at Cox Medical Center South, Springfield, Missouri.
Fred is survived by his wife of 50 years, Darlene (Cantrell) Lacey, of Springfield, Missouri; his son, Fred Lacey, Jr., of Pittsburg, Missouri; his daughter Dawn (Lacey) Barnes and her husband Tony Barnes, of Springfield, Missouri; five grandchildren: Justine Lacey, Garrett Lacey, Lane Lacey, Mikala (Barnes) Deck and her husband Travis, and Evan Barnes and his wife Casey. Fred is also survived by his sister Sharon (Lacey) Cameron and her husband Jeff Cameron of Chino Hills, California; sister Paula (Lacey) Panahi and her husband David Panahi of Fair Grove, Missouri; sister Cindy (Lacey) Moore and her husband Tweed Moore of Roseville, California; uncle (who was more like a big brother), Jim Lacey and wife Glenda Lacey of Corpus Christie, Texas; and sister-in-law Diana (Newberry Lacey) Creiger and her husband Mike Creiger of Springfield, Missouri, as well as a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. He is preceded in death by his father, John Lacey; his mother, Mary (Watson) Lacey; brother, Joe Lacey; and niece Angela (Lacey) Mallow.
Fred was born on August 8, 1950 in St. Louis, Missouri to parents John and Mary Lacey. He worked in residential and commercial construction as well as being a dairy farmer most of his life. He also worked with one of his best friends and brother in Christ, Frank Sanderson, at Petit Jean Poultry in Buffalo, Missouri as the sanitation supervisor. On July 16, 2016, Fred started working as the Maintenance Director at Maplewood Alzheimer’s Special Care Center and only retired due to his cancer diagnosis on March 10, 2018. Fred had commented several times that he wished he could have found the job at Maplewood much earlier in his life as he loved the people he worked with and all the residents dearly. Even after retiring, Fred continued to return to Maplewood after doctor’s appointments to visit and always found something to fix while he was there.
Fred was baptized into Christ by evangelist Ron Alexander in the late 1970s and faithfully attended the Pleasant View Church of Christ congregation in Springfield, Missouri. Fred was a man of few words but always had a deep love for God, Jesus Christ, his family, and his brothers and sisters in Christ. He was the most upset over the past couple of weeks because he was not able to attend church services. The day before his death, he told his daughter, Dawn, to tell everyone he was sorry he could not be there that morning for Church services because he just couldn’t get there. He also commented that it was now two weeks he missed in a row and maybe he would get there next Sunday.
A funeral is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday, October 19, 2018 at Greenlawn Funeral Homes North with a reception to follow at the Northview Center inside Doling Park at 301 East Talmage Street, Springfield, Missouri 65803. Tony Barnes and Dean Tlustos will officiate. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Fred’s life. The family would like to thank everyone for their love, support and prayers for Fred as well as the rest of the family since his cancer diagnosis in January. Flowers can be sent to Greenlawn Funeral Homes, 3506 N National, Springfield, Missouri 65803.