JOE NEAL LACY, M.D.

Fort Worth, Texas – Dr. Joe Neal Lacy, beloved father, husband and friend, died suddenly and unexpectedly Sunday afternoon, May 7, at the age of 66.

A Celebration of Joe’s Life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, May 15, at Christ Chapel Bible Church, 3701 Birchman Avenue.  His family will receive friends following the service.

Joe was born to John Neal Lacy and Zelma Palmer Lacy on December 2, 1956, in Center, Texas.  He graduated from Center High School and Summa Cum Laude with a Biology degree from Stephen F. Austin State University. He attended medical school at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he also completed a Surgical Infectious Disease Fellowship, a General Surgery Internship and an Orthopedic Surgery Residency. He and a partner established an orthopedic surgery practice in Sherman & Denison Texas. Although entirely resolved later, upon learning of a health concern, Joe ended his surgical career and obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from The University of Texas at Austin. After several years of healthcare consulting with a prominent consulting firm in Dallas, Joe returned to medicine, completing a Radiology Residency at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, followed by a Musculoskeletal Imaging Fellowship at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. For the past sixteen years, Joe has been a radiologist with Radiology Associates in Fort Worth. Joe received many awards and honors during his career and was a member of several professional medical organizations.

Far more significant than all those achievements were the things that gave meaning and purpose to Joe’s life. He worked to make a living and provide for his family, but his real passions were his family and forming meaningful relationships with those he encountered. His childhood experiences drove him to be a great dad and he pursued it intentionally, tenaciously and with God’s guidance. Together with Jane, he set an incredibly wonderful example for his children. When he made mistakes as a father, he was consistent with apologies and finding a way to use it for good. Joe’s children say because of their dad, they know and have confidence in who they are, and they’ve learned how to work and seek balance in life. Joe loved to be outside and work, getting his hands dirty. Wonderful times were spent in the mountains skiing and hiking with family. He rarely sat still and enjoyed productivity. He and Jane were working together on property they owned in the country when he died. Joe was deeply drawn to authenticity in relationships and shunned superficiality. He was a friend to many and was always generous with his time, willing to share his medical expertise with those having concerns. Joe, Jane, and their children are members of Christ Chapel Bible Church and Joe served on several missionary trips to El Salvador and most recently on a medical mission trip to Panama. Early in his life, Joe spent a great deal of time at First Baptist Church in Center participating in choir and other activities. He was a man of deep faith and routinely shared the difference Jesus Christ made in his life as his Lord and Savior. As he grew in his relationship with Christ, God transformed him to love and serve in deeper and greater ways.

In addition to his wife of 32 years, Jane Ann Freese Lacy, Joe is survived by his sons, Wilke, Grey and Luke and daughter, Anna, along with sisters, Nancy Warr, Linda Reinhart and Janice Compton and their families.

MEMORIALS:  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts be made to Vida Nueva, a church in El Salvador, which Joe served during several missionary trips. Instructions to give online or by mail can be found at https://www.goodnewsinaction.org/donate. Or to The Roughrider Foundation, P. O. Box 152, Center, TX 75935, in Joe’s memory.  Please note Joe Lacy on the check.