MADISON – Colleagues and friends of Lacie Ring are remembering her vivacious personality, work ethic and optimistic outlook.

Lacie, 33 years old, passed away in her sleep on the night of January 8-9. Lacie and her husband Dan Ring lived in Harvest with their daughter, 21-month-old Ruby Ring.

Lacie’s parents are Robin Cole Sr. and Linda Sue Cole Bell. Lacie’s siblings are Robin Cole Jr., Jeremy Cole, Logan Ferwerda and Mya Cole. Lacie’s family conducted her Celebration of Life gathering on Jan. 17 at Central Assembly of God Church in Houston, Pa.

With Madison City Schools, Lacie started as a sixth-grade teacher at Mill Creek Elementary School in July 2016. In two years, she transferred to Liberty Middle School and taught math. In November 2018, she was promoted to Elementary Math Specialist for the district and worked from the Central Office.

In addition, Lacie helped with coaching girls’ basketball at James Clemens High School.

She earned a bachelor’s degree at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, W.V. and a master’s degree from California University of Pennsylvania in California, Pa. At the University of West Alabama, Lacie received Instructional Leadership Certification to become a K-12 Administrator.

“Lacie was an amazing person — not only as a coworker but, more importantly, as a friend,” MCS Elementary Instruction Specialist Wendy Pharo said. “We shared an office, and we talked daily about not only work but our kids, husbands, struggles and passions in life.”

“Lacie was an advocate for many causes, and she was also the first person to stand up for her friends. Not having Lacie here on Earth with us is a huge loss, and those of us who knew her and loved her will do our best to continue to fight for the people and causes that were so dear to Lacie,” Pharo said.

Daniel Whitt, MCS Coordinator of Instructional Technology, said he “loved working with Lacie because her sense of humor matched her very diverse talents. She was good at everything she did, and she always had fun doing it. Our team just took a hit that we will never fully recover from.”

Former co-workers at Liberty praised Lacie in a Facebook tribute: “It is difficult for us to process the loss of Lacie. Once a Liberty Lion … always a Liberty Lion. She was a phenomenal educator, colleague, coach, mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and overall a wonderful human being. There are many people in our school, district and community hurting.”

A GoFundMe account is open at gofundme.com for “Remembering Lacie Ring (Cole).”