Rockbridge NAACP’s 2018 Freedom Fund Banquet honoree Theodore “Ted” Carter DeLaney, Jr. passed away on Friday December 18,. 2020. DeLaney was a professor of history emeritus and chair of Washington & Lee’s Africana Studies Program. He was a much beloved Lexington native, born here in 1945 and attending Lylburn Downey, which at the time was an all black school. After turning down a United Negro College Fund scholarship to Morehouse College, DeLaney started work at W&L as a janitor in 1963. In 1979, he took his first class at W&L, becoming a full-time student four years later. DeLaney graduated with a B.A. in history, cum laude, in 1985 at the age of 42 and earned his Ph.D. from William & Mary in 1995.
Said Washington & Lee President Will Dudley of his passing, “Professor DeLaney’s life and work represent the best of the university’s core values; he was a beacon of moral clarity. During his career at W&L, Ted worked tirelessly to make the school a more welcoming and inclusive environment. His scholarship provided keen insights into the history of the university and the local community, which illuminated the national conversation around civil rights.”
DeLaney is survived by his wife, Patricia; their son, Damien and his wife, Kara; and two grandchildren, Stella and Wyatt.
In lieu of flowers, DeLaney requested friends make contributions to one of the following: the Theodore C. DeLaney Scholarship Endowment at Washington and Lee University, the The Rockbridge NAACP’s Ted DeLaney Youth Opportunity Grant; or the Ted DeLaney Preservation Fund of Evergreen Cemetery through Historic Lexington Foundation.