‘Red’ Lackey, loyal Democrat, dies

By GREG LIENESCH, Daytona Beach News-Journal Staff Writer

February 28, 2008

ORMOND BEACH -- With his elaborate headgear and "Yellow Dog Democrat" business cards, Edward G. "Red" Lackey was a staple and workhorse in the Volusia County Democratic Party for years.

Lackey, who drove voters to the polls in North Carolina when he was 14, died Tuesday at Florida Hospital Ormond Memorial. He was 93.

"Through his many years of committed activism, Red Lackey earned the respect and affection of Democrats of all ages and from every corner of the state. No job was too big or too small for Red if it helped elect Democrats," said Karen Thurman, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, in a news release. "He worked so hard and touched so many lives over the years," she added.

Lackey was born in Hiddenite, N.C., and spent most of his life in North Carolina. As a young man, he helped his father run the family's general store, which provided all the local farmers with supplies.

That's when he got a taste of politics. In 1928, Lackey drove the North Carolina mountains in a Model T Ford and earned the "Yellow Dog" nickname from the old expression: "We'd vote for a yellow dog if he ran on the Democratic ticket."

In a recent video that Lackey recorded he recalls his father telling him: "Son, whatever you do when you grow up, I want you to work for good government."

In 1941, he became co-owner of Pilot Freight Carriers, which later became the seventh-largest trucking company in America. He also worked as a high school football coach in North Carolina and Georgia and was employed in the warehousing and manufacturing industry.

Lackey's passion to work for "good government" led him to numerous elected and appointed posts, including four years as county commissioner from 1960-64 in Winston-Salem, N.C. He also was a military transport officer briefly under President Kennedy.

Over the years, he gave generously to his alma mater, Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., where the university named its baseball field in his honor.

Lackey moved to Southwest Florida in the late 1970s and was a party activist for more than 20 years in the Republican-dominated Charlotte and Collier counties. He moved to Ormond Beach in 2003 to live with his son, Steve.

In 2004, after his 90th birthday, Lackey represented Volusia County as the oldest delegate in the state's delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Lackey was gearing up for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. "He was approved and was planning to go to the convention in Denver," his son said.

Additional survivors include two more sons, Dr. Gerald Lackey, Cleveland, and Mark, Morganton, N.C.; a sister, Dorothy Thomas, Hiddenite; nine grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the Jane Logan Lackey Endowments, c/o Patricia L. Wilson, ASU Box 32064, Boone, NC 28608-2064. Alavon Direct Cremation, South Daytona, is in charge.