Obituary of Ruth Mary Lacey

April 5, 1947

Curious, Fierce, and Loyal

 

Peacefully in her sleep on March 2nd, 2026, with sunshine streaming in the windows of her room at the Provincial Palliative Care Centre, aged 78 years. Beloved mother of Monica Lacey (Devon Ross), and Chiara Lacey (the late Hugh Curley). She is survived by her brothers Lawrence Lacey and James Lacey, ex-husband, Luciano Lisi, and her grandchildren Daria, Maeve, and Elena.

 

Born in Windsor NS, the daughter of Francis Walter Lacey, a united church minister, and Frances Jean Lacey, an educator. She loved the landscape of her early childhood in Nova Scotia as her father’s ministerial work took them to Brooklyn, Onslow, and Rose Bay, and then on to Chipman, New Brunswick, where her older sister, Margaret, passed away. Following that tragic loss, the family moved to York, PEI.

 

Ruth was an entrepreneur from an early age, and learned to teach piano lessons under the guidance of her teacher and mentor, Catherine Morrison, in Chipman. In York she babysat and taught piano, making some lifelong friends in the process. She was part of the only graduating class of Prince of Wales College in 1969, where she received her Bachelor’s degree. She then met professor Mike Arons, who was forming a new Humanistic Psychology department at the University of West Georgia, and decided to go south to study there and earn her Masters degree in Psychology.

 

An opportunity to work as an Au Pair took her to Italy, where she met her husband, Luciano Lisi, a fellow entrepreneur and visionary, with whom she spent nearly a decade living in Italy and London, starting various businesses and organizations together. They made many visits to Ruth’s parents in PEI and eventually returned to the Island in 1978, when they purchased a parcel of farmland, influenced by the back-to-the-land movement of the era. Together they built a hexagonal house in Bonshaw, and a cottage in Rice Point, and had two daughters, before separating yet maintaining their friendship.

 

Ruth started The Appin Road Day Camp as a charitable organization in 1980, and ran this therapeutic summer camp for children for 41 years. She continued her work in psychology with private clients until the very end. She believed deeply in being of service to others, and in extending a hand to those in need, and to children and youth in particular. She believed it is always within our own power to change our lives for the better, no matter the hand we’re dealt.

 

Noticing there was no drama program at East Wiltshire School in the 1990s, she took the initiative to create one herself. What began as a single effort grew into many years of teaching children’s drama and guiding young people, some as young as 6, to write and direct their own plays. Several of her students have even gone on to become professional performers! A devoted champion of the arts, she also loved to travel, visiting friends and immersing herself in art and theatre wherever she went. Her journeys took her to major events such as Woodstock in 1969 with her brother Lawrence, and then throughout Europe, Thailand, Australia, Taiwan, Colombia, and repeatedly to Cuba, where she organized service trips to deliver much-needed supplies and support local communities.

 

Ruth loved the springtime, and was always excited to see the flowers come up as the snow melted, and the hummingbirds return. She loved reading, music, and singing, especially her various book clubs, ukulele groups and choirs, and playing the organ for Sunday Services in her community. She had many beloved pets over the years, and took great pleasure and solace in the natural world - she could often be found barefoot outside, collecting interesting finds from the woods or the shore. She enjoyed swimming in the ocean, and loved to swim out as far as she could and look back to see the shoreline in a new way. Ruth had a delightfully absurd sense of humour, one she got from her own parents and passed on to her children and grandchildren. She was fiery, loved to move fast and ‘get things done’ - if you knew her, you probably knew how she was always waiting for others to catch up! She was endlessly intrigued by the mysteries of being human and adored a deep conversation about the meaning of it all. She cherished her three grandchildren and taught them each as much as she could, even in her final days. Ruth had such intensity and zest for life -  she squeezed every last drop out of it. She will be so deeply missed.

 

The family would like to extend sincere gratitude to the staff at the Provincial Palliative Care Centre and to the many other medical professionals who provided extraordinary care, kindness, and compassion to our beloved Ruth.

 

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 25th at the Bonshaw Hall at 1pm followed by a drop-in celebration of life at the Bonshaw Community Centre from 2:30pm - 4:30pm.