Stacey, the niece of former Texas Gov. James Allred, also campaigned for Mattox during his first bid for the attorney general's seat, a post he held from 1983 to 1991.
    "The teachers of Texas lost a good friend and a strong voice," he said.
    Many who knew Stacey recalled her enthusiasm for education, her dedication to teachers, and her political prowess, which reached the halls of Congress when she lobbied lawmakers for federal funds to support military school districts. "I will miss Virginia and her spirit. She meant a great deal to me," said U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio. "I don't think any of us will be able to think about Lackland schools without thinking about Virginia. She illuminated the path towards educational fulfillment for all of us."
    In Austin, she left her mark on the Texas State Teachers Association, now the state's largest teachers union, by helping create its first political action committee. "She was in the forefront of getting us to endorse and contribute to political campaigns, because she said that's where teachers have to get involved," union spokeswoman Annette Cootes said. "She was absolutely a dynamo. She really was. She was wonderful, a wonderful teacher, and I understand, a wonderful administrator," Cootes said.
    Stacey taught in the Lackland School District for 24 years before she became an administrator and then its superintendent in 1990. She took the job with a 3-2 vote from the school board amid doubts she had sufficient experience to run the small, two-campus system, which now has about 540 students. Despite the skeptics, Stacey turned Lackland schools into a San Antonio success story. Last year, it was the first and only exemplary school district in Bexar County. The U.S. Education Department bestowed its prestigious Blue Ribbon award to the elementary school.
    In tribute to her accomplishments, the district named the junior-senior high school after Stacey a few years ago, an unusual honor for a sitting superintendent. "She was an advocate for children and children's education, and along those lines she supported teachers and what was good for teaching," said her daughter Darby Stacey.
    Virginia Stacey died Wednesday at about 4:15 a.m. while she was in the hospital undergoing tests. Her daughter said she had not been feeling well, but her death was unexpected.
    Besides her daughter, she is survived by her brother, Raymond S. Allred Jr.; and grandchildren Richard Parisi, Darbi Ann Parisi and Robert Parisi. She was preceded in death by her husband, Air Force Major John E. Stacey, son Richard Stacey and daughter Stephanie Allred Stacey Parisi. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Porter Loring Mortuaries at 1101 McCullough. Funeral arrangements are pending.