GOTHENBURG, Neb. (AP) - A longtime prosecutor who helped create a care center for child victims of assault and violence in Lincoln and Lancaster County has died.
Gary Lacey passed away Thursday at Gothenburg Health, Teresa Peckham of Blase-Strauser Memorial Chapel in Gothenburg said Tuesday. Lacey was 77.
Gacey was elected county attorney in 1990 and served until 2010. He handled several high-profile cases over his years as a prosecutor, including the 1980 slaying of two women at a Quaker meeting house. Friends have said much of his focus over his career was on changing the way the county provided care for juveniles in the legal system.
Lynn Ayers, the executive director of the Child Advocacy Center, said Lacey’s dedication and passion were vital to the growth of the center he helped found.
“His life, his vision, his leadership have directly touched the lives of thousands of children,” Ayers told the Lincoln Journal Star. “I look at the Child Advocacy Center as his living legacy.”
Joe Kelly, U.S. attorney for Nebraska, had succeeded Lacey as Lancaster County attorney, and he said Lacey was adept at practicing local politics.
Lacey also was “friendly, had a sense of humor, pleasantly unpredictable and a lot of fun to work around,” Kelly said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.