Former Clerk of Court Lacy Thompson dies

Lacy Thompson speaks during a September 2013 tribute. (Deuce Niven photo)
By DEUCE NIVEN
Lacy Randolph Thompson of Chadbourn, whose 26 years as Columbus County Clerk of Court was just part of a 40-year career of public service, died Wednesday at Columbus Regional Healthcare in Whiteville. He was 87.
Thompson was Columbus County Coroner from 1950 to 1952, a county commissioner from 1952 to 1966, and Clerk of Superior Court from 1966 until his retirement in 1992. As the coroner, Thompson had the distinction of being the youngest elected official in North Carolina at that time.
Thompson followed the late Lee J. Greer as Clerk of Court as Greer was appointed Columbus County’s first District Attorney in 1966.
A well-attended tribute was held in the Superior Courtroom of the Columbus County Courthouse last September, and Thompson was presented with The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, a prestigious North Carolina honor authorized by Gov. Pat McCrory and presented by state Rep. Bill Rabon.
Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Doris Wooten Thompson.
Visitation was planned from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Worthington Funeral Home, Chadbourn.
A Celebration of Life service was planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at Chadbourn Baptist Church, where Thompson was a lifetime member. Interment will follow in Chadbourn Memorial Cemetery.