Lee H. Lacey

Lee H. Lacey passed away Wednesday, March 26, 2008. He was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, the former Helen Bach. Mr. Lacey is survived by his six children, Sue (John) Watt, of Aurora, Colo., Dale (Virginia Warwick) Lacey, of Pasadena, Md.; Jane (Don) Buie, of Aurora, Colo., David (Nancy Knoll) Lacey, of San Francisco, Calif., Mark (Carol Kolesar) Lacey, of Oakmont, and James (Tracy Yates) Lacey, of Melbourne, Fla.; nine grandchildren, Erik Roberts, Hilary Roberts, Jeffrey Lacey, Michael Logan, Bryce Lacey, Sarah Lacey, Kaitlyn Lacey, Leah Lacey and Thomas Buie; as well as five great-grandchildren. After serving in the Navy during Word War II, Mr. Lacey completed his education at the University of Dayton, graduating in 1949. He was the executive director of Goodwill Industries in Dayton, Ohio, until he came to Oakmont in 1959 to take the position of chief executive officer at the Harmarville Rehabilitation Center, where he served until his retirement in 1987. Mr. Lacey and his wife were among the original residents of the Longwood at Oakmont Retirement Community, where they had lived since 1992. A pioneer in the field of rehabilitation, Mr. Lacey was recognized locally, statewide and nationally for promoting rehabilitation services, facilities and programs. His honors included The Distinguished Career Award from the National Association of Rehabilitation, The Distinguished Service Career Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, the Joseph F. Mulach Jr. Award for Vocational Rehabilitation Centers from the Vocational Rehabilitation Center of Allegheny County and the Kenneth W. Hylbert Award from the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Association. Mr. Lacey was quick to share such recognition with his hard-working colleagues, fellow visionaries and their families at the Harmarville Rehabilitation Center (HRC). Together, they did groundbreaking work in occupational and vocational therapy, spinal cord injury, prosthetics crafting and fitting, hand injury therapy, mental health care and home economics. With support from the Federation of Independent Schools, now FISA Foundation, Mr. Lacey oversaw the capital campaign that grew the capacity of HRC from 68 beds in 1959 to 120 in 1970 and finally to 200 beds. When HRC Affiliates was formed to govern Community Outreach, HRC Services and the Harmarville Foundation, Western Pennsylvania enjoyed significant expansion in patient care and services. Among Mr. Lacey's many other memberships and community activities were The National Rehabilitation Association, American Field Service, American Management Association, the Rotary Club of Fox Chapel, the Society for the Advancement of Management, the University Club, membership on the Oakmont School Board, the Oakmont Centennial Organization Committee, the Oakmont Carnegie Library Expansion Project and the Oakmont United Methodist Church. Friends will be received from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the ENGLISH FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES INC., 378 Maryland Ave., Oakmont, PA 15139. A memorial service willl be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday at Longwood at Oakmont. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Family Hospice and Palliative Care, 50 Moffett St., Pittsburgh, PA 15243, 412-572-8800.