John Lacy served his country for nearly four years in the military and served his Waynesboro community for decades as an oral surgeon who devoted countless hours to the local Boy Scouts and the local dental clinic.
In retirement, Lacy and his wife bestowed their philanthropy on dental students with financial need attending his alma mater.
Charlottesville News Waynesboro man drowns after boat capsizes on Augusta County lake NEWS VIRGINIAN STAFF
Lacy died Tuesday in Augusta County near Lyndhurst when the boat he and another man were in took on water and capsized. The men were reportedly moving a floating dock in a lake. The Augusta County Sheriff's Office said the other man escaped the water to safety. Lacy, 84, did not resurface and drowned despite the efforts of first responders from Augusta County and the Virginia State Police.
The sheriff's office said Friday that there is nothing new to report regarding the incident. Lacy's body has been sent to the medical examiner in Richmond.
Friends say Lacy was passionate about a lot of things, but especially the Boy Scouts.
"He devoted a lot of time and resources to Scouting,'' Harold Cook, a retired plant manager at the Hershey factory in Stuarts Draft and a friend of Lacy's for more than three decades, told the News Virginian. "He raised money for the Scouts and went camping with them."
Cook remembers his late friend as "a big guy, but a gentle big guy."
Waynesboro dentist Richard Mansfield knew Lacy as both a colleague and a friend. He said after Lacy's retirement from his oral surgery practice, he did considerable work for the Augusta Regional Dental Clinic, a nonprofit operation that offers services to those on Medicaid or without any dental insurance.
"There is such a need for extractions there, and he did a lot,'' Mansfield told the News Virginian. He said Lacy's generosity included bringing food to the staff at the Fishersville clinic. "He was well-loved by the staff."
And Lacy's lengthy years in practice meant he reached a lot of patients in Waynesboro and the surrounding area.
"I talked to a patient yesterday who said he took out her wisdom teeth,'' Mansfield recounted.
Mansfield remembers his colleague "as a great guy, and very humorous."
Lacy's philanthropy extended to his dental school alma mater, the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, where he graduated in 1967. Lacy and his wife, Carolyn, established a scholarship at the school of dentistry "In appreciation for everything that dentistry has provided them," according to VCU.
Upon completion of his dental residency, Lacy served 42 months at the U.S. Army hospital in occupied Berlin. Upon discharge, he began his dental practice in Waynesboro.
The Lacy scholarship annually goes to a third- or fourth-year dental student who is in good standing, demonstrates leadership skills and has financial need, said Gloria Callihan, the associate dean for development and alumni relations at the VCU School of Dentistry.
A committee chooses each year's recipient. The first recipient was awarded in 2014.
A funeral for Lacy has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Waynesboro.