On Jan. 30, 2013, Stuart McRae passed away at North Florida Regional hospital. Stuart requested cremation, and a celebration of his life will be held in his honor. The memorial services will be Sunday, Feb. 24, at 6:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Hall.
In 1967 Stuart arrived at Santa Fe College, then Santa Fe Community College, as a part-time instructor after earning a Masters Degree in Education at the University of Florida and becoming chaplain at Florida Southern College. When Florida Southern terminated his contract because he was “too student oriented,” he found a home in the more educationally experimental milieu at SF. He became the anthropology department full time in 1969, a position from which he retired in 2008 as a full professor. He was a fine colleague, and he loved Santa Fe enormously.
He was a spectacular teacher who cared about the success of each and every student who entered his classroom and went to great lengths to ensure it. He relished the challenge of helping students become great. He was inspired and inspiring. He was wonderful mentor to many students who have gone on to have successful academic careers and many more who have gone on to have successful lives. Of course, he won all sorts of awards which included the Florida Association of Community Colleges’ Teacher of the year Award and the Alan J. Robertson Medallion, SF’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
The family requests that those wishing to honor Stuart’s memory contribute to the Stuart McRae Study Abroad Scholarship at Santa Fe College by clicking here.