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A Part Of Oriental Since 1962
August 11, 2010

Jackie & Lacy Stallings

T

he year was 1962 – Lacy and Jackie Stallings were visiting Kennels Beach, renting a cottage on a holiday from their home in Raleigh. They’d heard they should go look at a little sleepy fishing town just down the road. It had a funny name… Oriental. The Stallings came to visit, and there was a beautiful old river front house for sale. It dated to 1890, and had a grand appearance from the river.

This old house needed a lot of work, but Lacy Stallings was smitten. They bought it, and for decades that home has become an Oriental landmark, simply known as “The Stallings House.” Then a doctor in Raleigh, Lacy and his family spent weekends and vacations in Oriental, renovating the grand old home along the way. In 1988 the Stallings retired to Oriental, moving to a new home in the village. The Stallings House on the river has been a popular rental (and the site for many weddings) for decades.

In honor of Lacy Stallings, the flag flies at half mast at the Stallings House

Lacy Stallings died August 9. He was 83.

Stallings’ daughter Lisa Durham says that in 1962 there were plenty of fishing boats in Oriental, but no sailboats. Lacy and Jackie Stallings, along with Ferne & Pretlow Winborne and Joe & Betsy Cox were instrumental in establishing sailing in Oriental. She says the first sailing regattas began in the mid 1960s.

Like many earlier sailors, Stallings began with a small boat – a 16 ft Comet sailing dinghy. Lisa remembers they “moved up” to a 19 ft Flying Scott – but it wasn’t until 1987 that Lacy Stallings acquired the 36 ft ketch “Coy Mistress”.

Lacy onboard “Coy Mistress”, taken from an old newspaper clipping

As well as enjoying river breezes onboard a sailboat, Lacy also loved to fly. Many Wednesday afternoons he would steal away for a few solitary hours in a small twin engine Beechcraft.

Lacy Stallings, Jr. was born March 20, 1927 in Greensboro, NC. He grew up in Bryson City in the North Carolina mountains, where his father, a civil engineer, was surveying and mapping the newly formed Smokey Mountains National Park.

In 1944 he was accepted into the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program, serving with the occupation forces in Italy after the war. After leaving the Army he continue his studies at the Universities of Fribourg and Geneva in Switzerland. Stallings then returned home to complete his undergraduate and medical studies at Duke University. In August 1959 Dr. Lacy Stallings entered private practice in Raleigh as a general surgeon.

Dr. Lacy Stallings, Jr

Lacy Stallings served as president of the medical staff of Wake Medical Center and chief of surgery of both Wake Medical Center and Rex Hospital. He was also on the medical staffs of Raleigh Community Hospital and Dorothea Dix Hospital.

Lacy and senior partner Gordon Sinclair were the founding partners of Wake Surgical Consultants of Raleigh. Stallings was a member of the Board of Directors of Hospice of Pamlico County from 1988-2009.

Lacy is survived by Jacquelyn, his wife of 62 years, three children: David and his wife, Adelaide of Raleigh; Lisa Durham and her husband, Randy of Raleigh; and Kathryn Bland and her husband, Bart of Melrose, Florida. Lacy Stallings leaves five grandchildren: Caleb, Joshua, and Jessica Durham and Trey and Autumn Bland. He is also survived by a sister, Dorothy Cross of Connecticut.

The family will receive friends Friday August 13 at the river front Stallings House at 500 South Avenue, from 5-8 pm. The funeral service is 1p Saturday the 14th at Oriental United Methodist Church.

A visitation will also be held at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, 831 Wake Forest Road in Raleigh, Wednesday August 18 from 5-7pm.

The family would like to express gratitude to Hospice of Pamlico County and Maddie Nelson for her tender care. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of Pamlico County, PO Box 827, Bayboro, NC 28515

Lacy Stallings and family members relax on the dock at the Stallings House

Posted Wednesday August 11, 2010 by Keith N. Smith