Just wanted to let the list know that my father Dr. Elton Lacey who was a Banach space researcher passed away today after a lengthy illness. Some of you may have known of him at the least.
I have included a short summary of his life below. Thank you and best of luck to you all in your endeavors.
Elton graduated from Leakey High School in 1955 and entered Texas A&M Univ. shortly thereafter. In the summer of 1957 he worked with the Corps of Engineers on the Mississippi river cutting transit lines for flood control projects. The first day there he went to the 4th St. Church of Christ and met his future wife Bonnie Brown and they were married August 1958 in Natchez, MS. That fall Elton continued his education at Abilene Christian Univ. where he received his B.A. in Mathematics in 1959 and his M.A. in Mathematics in 1960. Next Elton and Bonnie moved their family to Las Cruses, NM where Elton attended New Mexico State Univ. and earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1963. In the summer of 1963 Elton worked at White Sands Missile Range in NM. That fall he returned to ACU as Assistant Professor. In the summer of 1964 he went to UT at Austin as an Asst. Professor. He was promoted to Assoc. Prof. in 1969 and full Prof. in 1974. He took leave from UT twice during his tenure. In the summer of 1966 and during the academic year of 1967-1968 Elton was at the Analysis Division of the Manned Space Craft Center. During the academic year of 1972-1973 Elton was at the Institute of Mathematics, Polish Academy of Science in Warsaw. While there Elton wrote letters home describing our experiences in Poland. His Aunt Cindy kept them and they were later typed up and turned into a family book. In 1974 he was promoted to Professor at UT Austin. When Dr. R. H. Bing returned to UT as Chairmen of Mathematics, Elton served as his Vice-Chairman. A number of his publications while at UT were with S. J. Bernau in Functional Analysis and Banach Spaces. He also published a book with Springer-Verlag, Berlin, NY in their prestigious Yellow Series, and another with UT Press and one with TAMU Press. In the summer of 1980 Elton taught math at the Free Univ. of Berlin, W. Germany. When he returned to Texas, he started as Prof. and Head of Mathematics, Texas A&M Univ., 1980-91. He served at Texas A&M Univ. from 1991-92 as Prof and Assoc. Dean. Later, he returned to his first love, teaching mathematics and retired in 2002. Upon retiring he was named a Prof. Emeritus of Mathematics.
In the early 1990s Elton and Bonnie started working on family history. He was featured in the Dallas Morning News for using the internet for genealogy. Elton became an expert in Lacey family history and published several genealogy books including one on his maternal ancestors the Brices. He was a member of a number of heritage societies including the Sons of the American Revolution.