Obituaries

Obituary: Dr. Ann Matthews Lacy, Professor, Department Chair at Goucher College

Obituary from Eaton Funeral Homes:

Dr. Ann Matthews Lacy, 81, passed away at Briarwood Healthcare Center in Needham Dec. 6, 2013.

Ann was born in Boston to Mona (Matthews) and Clive Willoughby Lacy May 29, 1932. She graduated from Walnut Hill School (1949), Wellesley College (1953), and Yale University (1959) where she earned her PhD, making her one of the few women in the field of microbiology and genetics to earn that distinction in the 1950s. 

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She was a longtime resident of Sparks-Glencoe, Md. and Wellesley.

Ann was a department chair and Professor emerita at Goucher College where she taught biological sciences and genetics from 1959 to 1998. She specialized in research on the genetics of tryptophan biosynthesis in Neurospora crassa.

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Ann was a feminist and advocate for women's rights and education, and supported numerous organizations with her charitable giving. She was a smart, strong, pioneering woman who enjoyed the arts and sciences, nature and culture, and good pizza and beer. She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Boston Athenaeum, and Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Association, among other organizations. Her many extracurricular interests included family genealogy, and being an avid collector of books and treasures from the Arts & Crafts period.

She is survived by her sisters-in-law, Marian Coons Lacy and Sally Martyn Lacy; her nephews and nieces David Lacy, Virginia Lacy, Roger Lacy, Susan Leslie, Linda Avery, Martha Wissen, Janet Edwards, Chuck Lacy, Paul Lacy, Kate Marshall and their spouses; her goddaughter Barbara Berrie; her 15 great nieces and nephews; and her friends, colleagues, students and caregivers. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers John Willoughby Lacy, William Robinson Lacy and Thomas Bowditch Lacy; and by her sister-in-law, Barbara MutherLacy. 

A celebration of Ann's life will take place in the Wellesley area at the convenience of the family. 

Donations in Ann's memory may be given to the Ann M. Lacy and Myra Burnham Kurtz Fund to go towards presentation expenses for students engaged in research in biological resources, c/o Goucher College.


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