William Malcolm Lacy

William Malcolm Lacy went to be with the Lord December 11, 2010 at the age of 82. An Austin native, he was born March 22, 1928. He was drafted into the Navy in 1945, began flying training in 1948, and was called to active duty in the Air Force in 1951. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1954 with a degree in Advertising Art.

Lacy founded over a dozen businesses, ranging from graphic design to advertising to real estate marketing. He was a good mentor and encouraged his employees to succeed. Many of them went on to found their own businesses, some of which have achieved national prominence.

After retiring, Lacy became a member of the Air Force Art Program. He was one of 50 artists recruited from the Societies of Illustrators of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the Southwest. He traveled around the world on AF orders to visit and photograph sites important to the painting subjects. He visited Antarctica, the Amazon, Central America, Iceland, England, and many other countries. In return for travel paid by the AF, he donated over 80 paintings to the Program. His paintings have been exhibited at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Pentagon, the National Aviation Museum, and numerous AF bases. In 2008, Lacy was inducted into the Society of Illustrators of New York. To him this was the highlight of his art career.

Lacy was a member of several civic organizations: Rotary, Bergstrom-Austin Community Council, Navy League, Military Affairs Coalition, Austin Chamber of Commerce to name a few.

Lacy loved to give back what he had been given. He taught art classes at Sun City and helped mentor and encourage artists. He also supported a student-run pioneer program at Georgetown High School. This program was designed to clothe and equip homeless students of the school. Other schools nationwide have formed similar programs as a result.

He was a loving father who worked hard but did his best to spend time with family. He is survived by his son, Jim, and grandchildren Bethany and Jacob McCrum. Preceded in death by his wife, Joan, and his daughter, Leah.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday, Dec 15 at noon at First Evangelical Free Church, 4220 Monterey Oaks Dr., Austin, TX 78749.

In lieu of flowers, please make any memorial gifts to the church’s Visual Arts Ministry which the Lacy family participated in. Please make your check out to FEFC and put Visual Arts Ministry, or VAM, in the memo line.