Herbert L. "Herb" Lacey Jr.

Herb was born on July 30, 1932 in Takoma Park, MD. Herb was preceded in death by his parents Herbert Sr. and Dorothy H. Lacey, as well as his sister Carolyn Heine. The family lived in Arlington, VA, with two other related families, due to the depression. Herbert’s younger sister, Carolyn, was born two and a half years after him in Feb 1935. In 1941, the family built a home in Silver Spring, MD.

Herb worked at a plumbing business helmed by his father, before enlisting in the United States Air Force during the Korean War where he served during 1952-1956. In the USAF, he learned to be a radar repair technician and worked as a radar repair instructor. In 1955, he attended sermons held for servicemen, finding his faith, and was baptized on June 3rd at the Air Base he was stationed at.

After service, he attended the University of Maryland for a year aiming to be a dentist, but left to pursue a career in technician work. For all of 1958, he did government contract work in the Bahamas for a company doing research for the Navy. In 1959, he began working for IBM as an electronic technician to maintain the USAF’s SAGE Air Defense System computers, and was assigned to work in Grand Forks, North Dakota. While there, he went to the Greater Grand Forks Rescue Mission to attend church services where he found the love of his life in Nina Trankina. She was the daughter of Dr. Joseph Trankina, the founder and director of the Rescue Mission. They married June 18, 1961 and were together for 58 years before Nina passed away in December 2019. Nina gave birth to a son, Herbert Lacey III, the following May in North Dakota.

In 1962, Herb was placed into a new position at IBM in New York as one of eleven technical writers assigned to document an advanced operating system being developed at the time. Despite working without a degree, he was very successful in his field and attributed his success to God’s guiding hand in his life. In 1970, he was transferred to North Carolina, where he and his family settled down in Cary NC for the rest of their life. For the next 28 years, Herb was happy working as a programmer for the company before retiring in 1990. Over the years Herb and Nina formed many lifelong friends and church family.

For most of his life, since 1959, Herb was an enthusiast of amateur radio. Operating under the FCC-issued callsign ‘W3HL’, he pursued it as a hobby and took part in on-the-air Bible Studies on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday mornings starting in 1971.

Herb also enjoyed golf, later being happy to just watch the sport on TV. He loved watching and talking about history. Herb loved his family and especially enjoyed spending time and teaching various things with his grandson.

He is survived by his only son Herb Lacey III, daughter-in law Ann Lacey, grandson Joshua Lacey, as well as nieces and nephews.

Memorial services are planned for Saturday, July 27th, 2024, 2:30 pm, at The Shepherd’s Church, 6051 Tryon Rd, Cary, NC 27518.

While flowers are not requested, Memorials honoring Herb may be made to the international ministry of Dr. Stephen Davey, Pastor of The Shepherd’s Church, which is: Wisdom International, 2703 Jones Franklin Rd., Ste.105, Cary, NC 27518, or Transitions Life Care, 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607, or SECU Hospice House 426 Hospital Rd. Smithfield NC 27577.

Internment will take place at Eastern Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Goldsboro NC at a future date.

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