Manatee County school board member, longtime Manatee Tech leader Mary Cantrell dies at 71
BRADENTON -- A major figure in the Manatee County education sphere died on Sunday.
Mary Cantrell, a longtime educator, former director of Manatee Technical College and a school board member died from complications due to bone marrow cancer. She was 71.
Dr. Cantrell entered hospice care on June 30 and a week later, friends and family were cautiously optimistic about her condition, saying that if anyone could pull through, it would be Dr. Cantrell.
She took a turn for the worse on Tuesday evening, according to friends, and died around 12:30 p.m. Sunday at a hospice in St. Petersburg, family friend Minnie King confirmed.
"All of her family was with her," King said. "She passed very peacefully."
A lifelong educator, Dr. Cantrell retired in 2004 but returned to the district under the Deferred Retirement Option Program to lead Manatee Technical Institute, later named MTC. Dr. Cantrell, who had been at the school for 18 years, led the campus in its move from Bradenton to East Manatee off Caruso Road. In April 2014, she learned her contract would not be renewed.
Shortly after that, she decided to run for school board. And as her friends and family said, once she decided on something, that was pretty much it.
In a joint statement on
Sunday, Superintendent Diana Greene and school board Chairman Bob Gause praised Dr. Cantrell's work at Manatee Tech and her work on the board.
"Although her time on the school board was short, she was a contributing member and as always she was devoted to the education of the students she loved," Greene and Gause wrote in the statement.
In 2001, both Dr. Cantrell and Linda Agresta, who was the head of the district's K-12 English for speakers of other languages department at the time, were awarded the Marge Kinnan leadership award, Agresta said. After receiving the award, Dr. Cantrell came up to Agresta, said she wasn't happy about sharing the award with her and joked that she was going to have to hire Agresta at Manatee tech.
Agresta has been working at Manatee Tech since 2005.
"She believed in me," Agresta said. "Mary was all about helping everyone, everyone."
Dr. Cantrell was born in Texas, the youngest of four children. Her father died when she was 3, and her mother left her and her siblings at an orphanage soon after. Dr. Cantrell went on to finish both high school and college early, earning a bachelor's degree in education from the University of North Texas, a master's degree in education from the University of South Florida and doctoral degree in career/technical education from USF.
Dr. Cantrell was a staunch supporter of education being the key to lifting children out of poverty.
She believed that every student could be successful, said Doug Wagner, the district's head of adult, career and technical education. Wagner and Dr. Cantrell worked together for 14 years at Manatee Tech.
Dr. Cantrell's own high expectations and vision are what put Manatee Tech on the map. She helped bring in community members and businesses to build relationships. She made sure everyone had a voice when looking at designing the new building for Manatee Tech. And she never settled for anything less.
"Dr. Cantrell's legacy and drive will live on through the thousands of students who have come through these doors, graduated and are our working in Manatee County and beyond," Wagner said.
And it wasn't always easy -- getting the funds or the resources to keep Manatee Tech going. But under the helm of Dr. Cantrell, there wasn't a big need to worry, said John Ziemnicki, the chair of the board of governors at Manatee Tech.
"If they told Mary she can't do it, she'd look at them and say 'watch me,'" Ziemnicki said, adding that when other tech centers across the state were cutting programs during the economic downtown, Manatee was adding them.
"She built that school," he said.
Greene and Gause echoed that sentiment in the joint statement.
"Her passion for technical, career and adult education and her devotion to excellence among students and staff transformed MTC into one of the premier technical educational centers in the nation," they wrote.
Sunday evening, the family issued a statement on Dr. Cantrell's passing:
"It is with profound sadness that our family informs you of the passing of Manatee County School Board Member, Mary Cantrell, Ph.D. on Sunday, July 12, 2015. At the time of her passing she was surrounded by her loving family and leaves a legacy of dedication to education and youth development.
"Her enthusiasm and pursuit of achievement began the tradition that has resulted in MTC students winning more medals at the national SkillsUSA competition than any other technical school in the country - a streak that has recently been extended to 11-straight years."
Dr. Cantrell and her husband, Louis, were married for almost 50 years. She is survived by five children and two grandchildren.
Dan Nolan and Gene Witt, former superintendents of the Manatee School District, were other notable district leaders who died earlier this year as well.
The family asks in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her honor to the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida -- Hoxie Neighborhood or The Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County. Dr. Cantrell was an active Girl Scouts leader as their First Aider on many camping trips; and she was the first and only woman to be honored as Manatee County's Magnetic Woman in November 2014, by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee.
Funeral services in St Petersburg followed by a celebration of her life at MTC's Cantrell Hall are planned for Saturday, July 18, 2015. Additional details will be forthcoming.
Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter @MeghinDelaney.
This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Manatee County school board member, longtime Manatee Tech leader Mary Cantrell dies at 71 ."