10 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



they were always given, and he devoted himself to the 

 preparation of these addresses with zeal and energy, 

 looked upon the invitation as a compliment, and he re- 

 turned the compliment by preparing something for the 

 occasion that he felt was fitting. 



It was indeed fortunate in many respects for Major 

 Lacey, living as he did, to a ripe age, that he went down 

 into the shadow of death in the full possession of his 

 mental and physical vigor. On the Thursday before his 

 death on Monday, I was with him before the Supreme 

 Court of the state, presenting some cases on oral argu- 

 ment, and he, in the presentation of those cases, seemed 

 to possess the same energy, zeal, and resourcefulness that 

 he had when I first knew him. Within an hour of the 

 time of his death he was at my office, taking up matters 

 of importance and apparently in the full enjoyment of 

 perfect physical health. He said, laughingly, he never 

 drew a pension as a soldier until the law was passed 

 giving the soldiers a pension on account of old age. He 

 laughed when he stated that he owed Uncle Sam some 

 money, because he came out of the army physically much 

 stronger than when he went into it. 



Possessing this capacity for labor, Major Lacey, down 

 to the minute of his death, was actively and energetically 

 engaged in the practice of his profession, and the hour 

 before his death he was talking business in his office and 

 going from place to place in the town with no more ex- 

 pectation that his end was near than any of us have today. 



He walked home and was instantly stricken with death. 

 To those of us who had known him, Major Lacey will ever 

 be remembered as the type of man a lawyer should be. 

 His influence on the bar of the district has been an uplift- 

 ing influence. His death will not remove that influence 

 among the profession. 



I deem it entirely proper, in closing this brief address, 



