Theodore Carter DeLaney Jr. (Ted) departed this life Friday, December 18, 2020.
Like many other Lexington residents, he died of pancreatic cancer.
Ted was born October 18, 1943 in Lexington, Virginia, the son of the late Theodore Carter DeLaney Sr. and the late Theodora Henry Franklin DeLaney Morgan.
Ted's parents and younger brother, Charles Henry DeLaney, preceded him in death.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia Ann Scott; their son, Damien Paul DeLaney and his wife, Kara D. McDonald; and two grandchildren, Stella and Wyatt. Damien and his family reside in Los Angeles. He is also survived by three sisters: Theresa Marie Morgan of White Plains, New York, Janet Dorothea Morgan Jones of Charlottesville, and Carla Benita Morgan Cooks of Charlottesville.
Ted attended and graduated from Lylburn Downing School. At the time it was an all-black school that had grades 1-12. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American history, cum laude, from Washington and Lee University and 15 undergraduate credits from Virginia Military Institute. Additionally, he earned a PhD in American history from the College of William and Mary.
In 2005, the historically black St. Paul's College awarded him the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Washington and Lee awarded him a Doctor of Letters Degree in 2019.
Ted's affiliation with W&L began in 1963 and culminated with his tenure on the history faculty from 1995 to 2019.
Three years before attending graduate school, Ted taught American history at The Asheville School in western North Carolina. From 1993 to 1995, he taught history at the SUNY College at Geneseo, New York. He also enjoyed professional memberships in the Southern Historical Association and the St. George Tucker Society, a small interdisciplinary organization of southern specialists.
Ted became a Roman Catholic at age 11 and was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church for more than 65 years. He did, however, affiliate with St. Joan of Arc Parish in Asheville, North Carolina, St. Bede's Church in Williamsburg, and Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Henrietta, New York, while living in those places. During the 1970s and 1980s, he served the Diocesan Church in Richmond in various capacities, including chair of the Social Ministry Commission, charter member of the Office of Black Catholics, and member of the diocesan pastoral council.
Locally, he was the first president of the Yellow Brick Road Child Care Center, former treasurer of the Rockbridge Regional Library Board, former secretary of the Lexington City Board of Elections, and former president of the Waddell School PTA.
At Washington and Lee University, he served on various faculty committees and served as head of the history department for five years. He was also an avid local Democrat.
In lieu of flowers, Ted hoped you will make contributions to one of the following: the Theodore C. DeLaney Scholarship Endowment at Washington and Lee University in care of the W&L Office of Development, 204 W. Washington St. Lexington, VA 24450; the Ted DeLaney Youth Opportunity Grant of the Lexington/Rockbridge NAACP, P.O. Box 1065, Lexington, VA 24450; the UVA Cancer Center at UVA Health, P. O. Box 37963, Boone, IA 50037, please specify Allocation 14349 and Allocation 22698 (Director's Fund Cancer Center Gifts and GI Cancer Research) please specify in honor of Dr. Tri Le and in memory of Ted DeLaney; or the Ted DeLaney Preservation Fund of Evergreen Cemetery through Historic Lexington Foundation, P. O. Box 901, Lexington, VA 24450.
Arrangements are by Harrison Funeral Home and Crematory.
