John Gregory Stacy

John Gregory Stacy died from pancreatic cancer on January 1, 2025 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He died at home surrounded by family while in hospice care. Greg was born on November 26, 1951 in Bethesda, Maryland just outside Washington, D.C. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1974 with a degree in Physics. He then served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire (DRC) where he met his future wife, Jeanne Marie Paul, as a fellow volunteer. They both served for three years as education volunteers, regional representatives, and trainers. Greg received his doctorate in Physics and Astronomy in 1985 from the University of Maryland, College Park, while conducting research in high-energy astrophysics at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

He held a research associateship at the Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts before joining the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory Science Port Center and was assigned to the CGRO/COMPTEL instrument team at the University of New Hampshire in 1990. In 1997 he joined the faculty of LSU and Southern University as one of the first Board of Regents joint faculty appointees in Physics and Astronomy. He was always grateful for the unwavering support he received from colleagues on both campuses over the course of his joint faculty tenure. Greg was a long time telescope operator and speaker during open house nights at the BREC LSU observatory. He was also an enthusiastic recreational runner who looked forward to the Crescent City Classic every year.

Greg shared a continuing interest in family history and genealogy along with other family members. He was a hereditary member of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, representing a direct ancestor Lt. Col. William Stacy, who served as an officer in the Massachusetts Continental Army and fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill, among others.

Greg Stacy was preceded in death by his father, Edward F. Stacy, while his mother, Mary Gregory Stacy, still resides in Adamstown, Maryland. Greg is survived by his beloved wife of 43 years Jeanne (married on December 5, 1981), son Benjamin, and daughter-in-law Jamie. He found great joy in his three grandchildren, twins Abigail and Sophia and grandson Liam. He is the oldest of four siblings with sister Karen S. Merhige, brothers David F. Stacy (wife Amy), and Timothy E. Stacy (wife Lisa).

Funeral services will be private.

The family thanks the medical and support staff at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Baton Rouge General, and The Hospice of Baton Rouge for their care and support over this difficult period.

Greg would like to acknowledge his former students, colleagues, and friends in Africa who, among many other things, taught him that it is wise never to get caught between a Hippo and water