Obituary of Iris Celeste Abernathy

AUBURNDALE - Mrs. Iris Boland Abernathy, age 88, a resident of Auburndale, passed away Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at Good Shepherd Hospice from heart failure. Iris was born August 2, 1925 in Alma, Georgia to Thomas Alexander and Erma (Fuqua) Boland. She moved to Auburndale from North Carolina in 1972. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Auburndale where she was involved with the United Methodist Women, Ladies Sunday School and numerous committees with-in the church. Mrs. Abernathy was a retired teacher where she taught at Mebane High School, Eastern Alamance High School and The Technical Institute of Alamance in North Carolina. In 1972, she began her career at Auburndale Senior High School where she worked twenty three years as head of the science department. She retired in 1995, but continued to substitute teach. Iris remained passionate about education. She once wrote, "I have found a great deal of satisfaction and pride in my profession. Being able to contribute to the lives of young people and to help guide them in their thinking and learning has been very rewarding." Throughout her career, Mrs. Abernathy received many honorable awards. In 1962, she competed against over 800 individuals and won both the State of North Carolina and Region 5, which included nine other states, for the Outstanding Biology Teacher Award. She received the Outstanding Instructor Award at Technical Institute of Alamance in 1972. In 1979, she was runner up Teacher of the Year for Polk County Schools. In 1984, she was awarded Chemistry Teacher of the Year by the Association of Phosphate Chemists, and was inducted into the Auburndale High School Hall of Fame in 2005. "Miz A" completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology, with a minor in Chemistry, in only three years at Elon University. She later went on to receive her Master's Degree at Duke University in Biology and Chemistry. Iris was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, William "Bill" Abernathy. She is survived by her loving family: son: Alex (Barbara) Abernathy of Winter Haven, 2 sisters: Margaret (Ron) Sharpe of Raleigh, NC, Tomasene (Glynn) Moton of Forest City, NC, 2 granddaughters: Ashley (Nolen) Bailey of Lakeland, Heather Abernathy of Winter Haven.