Sidney H. Acuff's Obituary
Sid went to be with the Lord on June 16, 2006. He was born on November 25, 1924, in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, the youngest of three children born to John and Mary Acuff. He graduated from Columbia Military Academy, in Columbia TN, in 1943 and entered the U.S. Marine Corps, serving in the South Pacific during WWII, from 1943-1945. Following the war he received both his B.S. and M.A. in Psychology from the University of Tennessee, in 1949 and 1951. He went on to receive his M.A. in Education in 1954 from the University of Minnesota. During the summer of 1954 he worked as an intern at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, where he met and fell in love with Flor, a clinic RN. In 1954 he began his life-long career in Activity Therapies at Eastern State Hospital, Knoxville, TN, as a pioneer in the field of activity-based therapy for the treatment of the mentally ill. He and Flor were married February 5, 1955 in Nashville, TN. In 1963 he relocated his family to Tacoma, WA to become the Supervisor of Activity Therapies at Western State Hospital. He sat on the Board of Directors for the National Recreation and Parks Association from 1968-73, and was president in 1971-72. While continuing as a therapies supervisor, he also served as public relations spokesman for Western State Hospital and then retired from the hospital in 1992. A committed and active leader in church and the community, Sid served those around him in many ways. He was a member of the Little Church on the Prairie, in Lakewood, WA for 42 years, serving both as a Deacon and an Elder, and faithfully taught junior high and adult Sunday school classes from 1964 to 1992. In addition he led a Sunday school class for patients at Western State Hospital for many years. He was on the Young Life Committee for nearly 20 years, both in Knoxville, TN, and Tacoma, WA. He was a member of the Lakewood Rotary Club from 1977 - 2005, serving as president in 1983-84, and was a long standing member of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce. Other professional and civic organizations to which Sid offered his time, resources and leadership included the American Recreation Society, Family Counseling Services, and the Boys and Girls Club of Lakewood. Sid was a loving and devoted husband, father, brother, uncle, and grandfather, known for his patient demeanor, love of humor, smiling countenance, friendly handshake, and constant and sincere goodwill toward his fellow man. He will be dearly missed by his wife Flor, and his three daughters and their families: Pete and Cindy Winemiller (granddaughters Hannah and Grace) of Shoreline, WA, Steve and Jenny Dahlquist (grandchildren Jordan, Jonah, Josiah, and Jenna) of Selah, WA, and Fred and Connie Rey (grandchildren Sergei, Rebecca and Jonathan) of Menlo Park, CA. The sorrow of our loss is lightened by the joy and peace we have in knowing that Sid, now free from temporal bonds, will spend eternity worshipping his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Sid was preceded in death by sister Mary Jordan Shaw, of Oklahoma City, OK, and sister Genevieve Goodloe Gebhart of Decatur, AL. A memorial service will be held at the Little Church on the Prairie, in Lakewood, WA on Friday June 23 at 2:00 p.m., preceded by private family interment services at Mountain View Cemetery, also in Lakewood. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sid's memory to the Little Church on the Prairie at 6310 Motor Avenue S.W., Lakewood, WA 98499 or the Lakewood Rotary Foundation at PO Box 99786, Lakewood, WA 98499.
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