Morris Andrews Lacey, resident of Shelby, North Carolina and formerly of Montgomery, Alabama, beloved husband, brother, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, and friend, died in his sleep Friday, February 11, 2022. He was born in Avon Park, Florida on August 18, 1925 to Joseph and Elizabeth Lacey.

Like many of the Greatest Generation, he joined the Armed Forces and served in the U.S. Navy for three years. Badly burned in a Naval Air Force crash, he recovered and praised the physicians and nurse who saved his life whenever he spoke of the war. In May 1946, he was honorably discharged and started college, at age 21. He graduated from the School of Architecture and the Arts of Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University, in March 1949 with a bachelor's degree in Building Construction. He was a retired realtor.

He met Mabel Baird Lampley when he was visiting his mother's hometown of Shelby, in August 1981, and they married on Palm Sunday, April 4, 1982. He quickly adopted Shelby as his hometown, as well.

Three years later, they were asked by church and city leaders to help to develop a food program, and the Cleveland County Food Ministry was created. Morris and Mabel volunteered there for 27 years. More than 35 years since its beginning, it continues, with area churches feeding hundreds of citizens each month. In September 2012, they were awarded the Carl Carpenter Gold Heart Award for their years of service with the Food Ministry. And, for their Food Ministry efforts, Morris and Mabel were honored with the Mayoral Lifetime Achievement Award in April 2013.

In 1987, Morris was one of the founding members who established Habitat for Humanity in Cleveland County. He served on the board of directors and was an active and dedicated construction volunteer for five years, building four houses and editing the newsletter.

During this time, he donated blood regularly, because someone's donated blood saved his life in World War II. His total donation was 12 gallons and has helped people in Alabama and North Carolina over many years.

In 1989, he was part of a group that sought permission to develop the area now known as the Hunter Subdivision, which today comprises Village Square, Patton Oaks, and Jennings Street.

He and Mabel loved to travel, from Nova Scotia to Olympia, Washington, from Atlantic Beach, North Carolina to Mary Esther, Florida, and many places in between, to Durham, North Carolina and Montgomery, Alabama, often with grandchildren in tow. Still reading newspapers and magazines and books up until his final weeks, he loved current events and history, architecture, firetrucks, and science.

His greatest joy came from his large and loving family.

He was equally as committed to his family as he was to serving his community. For his entire adult life, he attended piano and dance recitals, sporting events for his children and grandchildren, and graduations all the way from kindergarten to college.

At 6'5", he made sure that his much shorter daughters understood they were just as strong and capable as he was, in everything. They had the only custom-built playhouse in the neighborhood with a window that actually opened, and he built a self-propelled wooden go-cart for all the neighborhood children to enjoy.

Morris was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Joe Lacey, Jr.; his sister, Emily Lacey McGregor; and Katharine Steiner Lacey, his former wife and the mother of his daughters.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 40 years, Mabel Baird Lacey, and his much-loved children and their families. Those include Anne Lacey, her husband, Mark Rausher, and their daughters, Larkin and Mary Holland; Caroline Lacey and her sons, Joe, his wife, Paige, and Sam; Margaret Lacey Murphy and her sons, Sellers Dubberley, his wife, Sarah, and Cameron Murphy; Mabel's sons, Chuck Lampley, his wife, Laura, and their daughters, Elizabeth, Sydney, and Sarah; Mark Lampley, his wife, Karen, and their daughter, Meg, and son Luke. His great-grandchildren, Grady, Brooks, and Miles Dubberley, gave him many days of laughs, love, and hugs.

His life and his legacy live on in his wife and their children, and he will forever be loved and remembered.

Our deepest and sincere thanks to the skilled and caring staff of Cleveland Pines nursing home who treated him as they would their own grandfather during the last month of his life. BrightStar Care gave him physical and emotional support on his journey. Hospice Cleveland County offered support and information daily to his family for the last 10 days of his life, and we will ever be indebted to them.

There will be no service. If you wish to honor his life, please consider donating to Hospice Cleveland County, 951 Wendover Heights Dr., Shelby 28150; to Cleveland County Food Ministry c/o Shelby Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 1444, Shelby 28151; or to Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity, P.O. Box 2908, Shelby 28151. Each of these organizations played a major role in his life, and he would be pleased to know that we gave them the recognition they deserve.

Remember, Papa, "Second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning," and we will see you again in Neverland.