Obituary of Nancy Murray Lacy

Nancy Murray Lacy was born in Boynton Beach, Florida, on November 28, 1927, the daughter of Theodore and Nannie (nee Upton) Murray. The Murray family were descendants of the original founders of the town of Boynton Beach and were successful farmers and landowners. Keeping with the family teaching tradition, Nancy followed in her mother’s footsteps and attended Western Kentucky State Teachers College in Bowling Green, Kentucky, now Western Kentucky University. Nancy graduated with a BA degree in teaching in 1948.

While in college, she met her future husband, William E. Lacy. Bill entered military service in the original Army Air Corps and was trained as a bomber pilot. He then attended law school, graduating from Vanderbilt University. Shortly after they married, Bill Lacy was a Captain in the Airforce and over the years rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant Colonel and a military Judge Advocate. This began their lifetime journey to serve at Air Force bases across the US and throughout the world. While raising four children and providing support as an Air Force officer’s wife, Nancy was always a third-grade teacher at any of the Department of Defence (DOD) schools on base where they were assigned. Even after her husband retired after 33 years of service from the Air Force in 1976, she continued to teach 3rd grade on the base in Homestead, Florida.

Some bases the Lacy family were assigned to from the 1950s through the 1970s included Wiesbaden Air Force Base (AFB) in Germany, Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona, Misawa AFB, Misawa, Japan, Whitman AFB, Knob Noster, Missouri, Biggs AFB, El Paso, Texas, Carswell AFB, Fort Worth Texas, Hahn AFB, Hahn, Germany and their final retirement post, Homestead AFB in Homestead, Florida.

The Lacy family had their retirement life in Florida disrupted due to Hurricane Andrew, the Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that leveled much of their neighborhood, destroyed their home and resulted in the closure of Homestead AFB in 1992. They relocated to suburban Philadelphia and moved into Collingswood, New Jersey to be close to some of their grandchildren. When Nancy’s husband died in May, 2014, she moved in with the Gomella family in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, where she passed away on February 3, 2024 at the age of 96.

She was preceded in death by her brothers Alton Murray of Sebastian, Florida, and Thomas Murray of Helen, Georgia, and her sister Patricia Suzanne Murray of Columbia, Maryland. Nancy and Bill had 4 children, William E. Lacy, Jr of Eatontown, New Jersey, Nancy McKoski, PhD, of Akron Ohio, (spouse Martin McKoski, PhD), Tricia Gomella, MD of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania (spouse Leonard Gomella, MD) and Rebecca Collins, MD, of Lexington, Kentucky (spouse Robert Collins, MD). Nancy was blessed with 6 grand-children and two great grandchildren. Some of her closest grandchildren include Leonard Gomella, MBA, Chadds Ford, PA, Patrick Gomella, MPH, MD, King of Prussia, PA (spouse Samantha Gomella, PA), Andrew Gomella, MD, Palo Alto, CA (fiancée Amanda Huon, PhD) and Michael Gomella, DDS, Evanston, IL (spouse Kristi Gomella). Her great grandchildren, Adam and Lillian Gomella, children of Patrick and Samantha Gomella, live in King of Prussia, PA.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, from 6:00-7:00PM at the Pagano Funeral Home, 3711 Foulk Rd., Garnet Valley, PA followed by a funeral service at 7pm. An additional viewing will be held on Friday, February 9th at Hillcrest Memorial Park, 6411 Parker Ave, West Palm Beach, FL 33405 from 1:00-2:00PM followed by burial.