Pace, Floyd (1925-2011)
PACE, MITCHELL, SORBE
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 10/8/2011 at 22:35:36
Floyd Pace
April 19, 1925 - September 12, 2011Monday, September 19, 2011
Floyd A. Pace, age 86, of Alta, passed away on Monday, September 12, 2011, at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center of Storm Lake.
Floyd was born to George and Maude Pace on April 19, 1925, in Zion. One of six boys in the farming family, Floyd graduated from North High School in Des Moines in 1942. He, then, enlisted in the Coast Guard where served as a radioman in the Aleutian Islands.
On May 26, 1944, Floyd married Betty Maxine Mitchell who bore him two children, Michael Dennis and Kathleen Marie. Having earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Drake University in Des Moines, he went on to complete a Master's degree and a Ph.D. in Education from Iowa State University in Ames.
Floyd began his career in education in Surprise, Nebraska, where he acted as principal, superintendent, and coach as well as teacher. He taught all the junior high and high school classes. In addition, he drove the school bus.
In 1952, Floyd moved his family to Winterset where he taught English, Spanish, and American Literature. After five years, they moved to Norwalk, and Floyd taught French and Spanish at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines.
In 1962, he taught romance languages at Iowa State University and coordinated the new language laboratories. While at ISU, he published a Spanish textbook.
His last stop in the field of education began in 1969 at Buena Vista College in Storm Lake where he chaired the Humanities Department and taught French and Spanish. One of his proudest accomplishments was co-founding the Gingerbread House, a non-profit daycare center which, at the time, was the largest childcare center of its kind in Iowa. Floyd loved singing French and Spanish songs for the children with his guitar.
Some of his fondest memories were of trips Betty and he made together. They toured the US, Peru, Mexico, Canada and China. He loved reading, music, learning, teaching, the underdog and, most of all, his family.
Floyd was a long-time member of the Kiwanis, the Masons, and the First Congregational Church along with language clubs for students, and for some thirty years, he acted as lay pastor for many small churches throughout Northwest Iowa.
He ws preceded in death by his parents and his older brothers, Leonard and Earl.
Floyd is survived by Betty, his wife of sixty-seven years; his son, Michael (Gail), their son Nick (Roxanne), and children, Sienna and Adison; his daughter, Kathleen Sorbe (Mark), and their children Tim (Kari) and their children John and Peter, Mike, Nick (Calli) and Adam. Also surviving are his twin brother, Lloyd, and his wife, Arlene; his older brother, Paul, and his wife, Lota; and his younger brother, Cecil, and his wife, Donna, and their children and grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be directed to the Dr. Floyd A. Pace scholarship fund for aspiring students of modern languages attending Buena Vista University. Please send contributions to: 902 Lakeshore Dr., Storm Lake, Iowa 50588.
A funeral service was held on Friday, September 16, 2011, at the First Congregational Church of Aurelia with the Rev. Bruce L. Rapp officiating. Burial was in the Woodlawn Cemetery of Alta with military rites conducted by the VFW Post #6172 of Alta. The Nicklas D. Jensen Funeral Home of Alta was in charge of arrangements.
© Copyright 2011, Storm Lake Pilot Tribune
Storm Lake Pilot Tribune
Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by LaVern Velau.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen