Shirley Roberts Acord

Shirley Roberts Acord Shirley Roberts Acord, 67, of Plant City, retired from the Hillsborough County School System, died Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007. The service will be at 5 p.m. EST Monday at Wells Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in Plant City (813-752-1111), with the Rev. Earl Smith officiating. Interment will take place at 3 p.m. EST Tuesday at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Tallahssee near Highway 20, the site of her husband's grave, and the church founded by her grandfather, Lewis Abraham Roberts, in the late 1800s. Memorial contributions may be made to LifePath Hospice and Palliative Care, 3010 W. Azeele St., Tampa, FL 22609 or Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612 or First United Methodist Church, 303 North Evers St., Plant City, FL. 33566 Shirley was a loving and caring individual who was so very proud of her family and was deeply valued by many friends and colleagues for her warm friendship, supportive actions and sense of humor. She was a beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. She was born in Tallahassee and grew up in Spring Hill, outside of Tallahassee. She graduated from Florida State University with a B.A. in education, she also earned two master's degrees in education. Shirley had a 40-year career in elementary education and was an accomplished teacher and technology expert in the Pensacola and Tampa area. She spent many years at the historic Lee Elementary School of Technology, Tampa/Hillsborough County's first elementary magnet school as Curriculum Integration and Instruction Resource Teacher. She was instrumental in crafting and implementing the cutting-edge technological integration in the school with 250 computers, scanning and digital photography equipment, and numerous software applications. She was committed to ensuring that all students could reach their potential and have the technological resources and instructions necessary to assist them. She was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Plant City. She is survived by a son, Cliff Acord (and wife Arlene Reynolds Acord) of Tampa; a daughter, Lauren Lucciola (and husband George) of Katonah, N.Y.; four beloved grandchildren, Trey and Noemi Lucciola and Aubrey and Adam Acord; three sisters, Edna Roberts Lambert of Michigan, Deanie Roberts Norred and Laverne Roberts Slocumb, both of Tallahassee; a brother, Andy Roberts (and wife Martha) of Tallahassee; a brother-in-law, Frank Acord; and many nieces, nephews and friends throughout the area. She is preceded in death by her husband, Roy Clifton Acord; her parents, Ruth Blount and Tom Roberts; three siblings, Tommy Roberts, Gwendolyn Roberts Slocumb and Glenda Roberts Harvey; and her mother-in-law and father-in-law.