Walter Garner Lacy, Iii

Walter Garner Lacy III, 72, passed away October 27, 2020 at his home in Waco, Texas. A lifelong Waco resident, Walter was born on December 1, 1947 and was the third of five children to Harriette Leachman Lacy and Walter Garner Lacy Jr. Walter attended Sanger Avenue Elementary, Lake Air Junior High, and Richfield High School in Waco before ultimately graduating from Texas Military Institute in San Antonio and Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In 1985, Walter married the love of his life, Gayle. Walter and Gayle spent 34 years together and had two children, Walt and Sarah. Walter’s wife and children were his priority in life. He was a warm and devoted husband and father who was incredibly proud of his children and their careers as a pilot and an attorney. He was a dedicated son, brother, uncle and cousin, with his large family affectionately referring to him as “Brother.” Walter also took great pride in ensuring the long term success of Community Bank and Trust, his family’s legacy. With a contagious sense of humor and a zest for life, Walter also had many friends in Waco and across the country whom he deeply cherished. He continued cracking jokes and making people smile with his kindness until his final days. Walter’s love of music was innate. Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, Walter supported and promoted local music performances bringing many bands to Waco, such as Jimmie Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds and The Cobras with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Walter was also on the ownership team of local radio station, WACO. His involvement in the Waco music scene led to him being labeled a “local mover and shaker” in Waco Today magazine. He also loved to fill his home with the sounds of guitar, piano, harmonica, and his extensive music collection. Along with his love of music, Walter loved dancing, always emphasizing the need to understand rhythm no matter the genre. Walter had an insatiable yearning for travel, going to countries such as Indonesia, Mongolia, China, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, Guatemala, India, and the Soviet Union prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain. He also witnessed a space shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral. Walter and Gayle continued to travel extensively after meeting, visiting Africa, Asia and Europe and taking their children on three-week road trips across the United States each summer. Walter and Gayle visited all fifty states. Many of Walter’s trips focused on viewing total solar eclipses. He witnessed six in his lifetime and viewed the most recent solar event in Warm Springs, Missouri in 2017. For several decades, Walter had been eagerly anticipating the total solar eclipse that will cross over Waco on April 8, 2024. Although he will miss viewing this eclipse from the ground of his hometown, Walter will certainly be looking down from the heavens to determine who among his friends and family listened when he surmised where the best locations might be to view the umbra. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Florence Carter Lacy Goudeau. Walter is survived by his wife, Gayle Vianco Lacy; his children, Walter Garner Lacy IV and Sarah Carter Lacy and husband, Bennett Maddox; and granddaughter, Harriette Alice Maddox. Walter is also survived by his siblings, Martha Roane Lacy Howe and husband, Don; Thomas Leachman Lacy and wife, Lisa; and William David Lacy and wife, Nancy; and many nieces and nephews. Walter left an indelible mark on the world. Yet, the biographical information published in this obituary will likely cause Walter to haunt us for years to come. A celebration of his life will take place in the coming months. And as he would always say, “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.” Memorials may be made to the HHT Foundation at curehht.org or P.O. Box 329, Monkton, MD 21111 or to First Presbyterian Church of Waco. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.