Sarasota High School Teacher Loses Battle With Coronavirus

SARASOTA, FL — The Sarasota High School community is mourning the loss of 27-year veteran social studies teacher Robert Shackelford, who lost his battle with the coronavirus on Wednesday, according to school Principal David Jones.

In a communication to the Sarasota High School community, Jones described the longtime educator as a person of "intelligence, integrity and incredible conscientiousness, whose life and career were indeed an inspiration" to everyone who knew him.

"When we at school heard of Robert’s passing, we were saddened beyond belief," Jones wrote. "There was a feeling that passed among us, a feeling that his death has left us with a void that can never be entirely filled."

Shackelford's daughter, Kari, shared on Facebook that she and other family members were connected via FaceTime when her father died.

"A nurse held his hand while we all spoke to him and said our goodbyes," she said. "I believe he was able to hear the voices of those he loved the most, and who loved him more than words can describe."

Shackelford joined the teaching staff at Sarasota High School on Aug. 19, 1993. Jones told Patch the teacher once invited a guest speaker to bring his Model T automobile to the school to "enliven" a discussion on the industrial revolution.

"We also take comfort in the fact that a part of him will continue to live, reflected in the lives of the students he has instructed and guided over the years," Jones told the school community.

"As a teacher, he gave of himself, perhaps the greatest gift of all, and those students who were fortunate enough to fall under his unique tutelage will carry his ideals, his knowledge, and his moral principles into the world, and the world cannot help but be made a better place because of it," Jones added.

Shackelford's death was the second this week of a Florida teacher who contracted the coronavirus at a time when fellow educators across the state prepare to reopen schools next month either online, through in-person classroom instruction or a combination of the two.

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"I’m reading all the Robert Shackelford memories my co-workers are posting and my heart is broken," fellow teacher ‎Tiffany Pepsin posted on social media. "Not just for the loss of him, but all those who will follow. There will be more [Facebook] memoriam pages for more teachers if we reopen brick and mortar. I don’t want to see more of my friends, co-workers, and fellow teachers die. I don’t want to see any students die either. I’m in mourning for my Sailor family and a profession I love."