Shirley Coolidge Achor was in her late 30s when she resumed her college education. She went on to earn a doctorate degree in anthropology and begin a successful teaching career.
Dr. Achor, 76, died Saturday of acute myeloid leukemia at her Dallas home.
A memorial service will be at 4 p.m. today at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, 4015 Normandy Ave.
Dr. Achor's teaching career included 20 years as an anthropology professor at East Texas State University, now Texas A&M-Commerce. In 1983, she received the Texas Association of College Teachers award for teaching excellence.
"She adored teaching," said her daughter, fashion editor of The Dallas Morning News. "She just liked sharing her knowledge. She was somebody who was totally curious about life and about other people."
Dr. Achor had a subspecialty in medical anthropology and often taught medical professionals about cultural differences that were pertinent to their work, her daughter said.
Born in Dallas, Dr. Achor grew up in New York, Bennington, Vt., Kenosha, Wis., and Kansas City, Mo., as her family moved with her father's sales job. She and her family returned to Texas, where she graduated from Highland Park High School.
She married and raised her family before returning to college. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1969 from Southern Methodist University, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa.
Dr. Achor originally wanted to be an archaeologist but changed her mind after a summer of archaeological digging in New Mexico. Locally, she and her husband did find a primitive site at the confluence of Cottonwood and White Rock creeks, just south of Forest Lane at North Central Expressway.
She taught at Richland College in Dallas and at Texas Woman's University in Denton while she was earning master's and doctorate degrees from SMU.
Dr. Achor lived in a West Dallas barrio for six months to research her doctoral research paper. Her thesis, "Mexican Americans in a Dallas Barrio," was later published by the University of Arizona Press in 1978 and used as a textbook by colleges across the country.
She joined the faculty of East Texas State University in September 1975 and taught until she retired in 1995. In 2001, she was named associate professor emeritus of the university.
Dr. Achor was a longtime member of the Dallas Anthropology Club and the Dallas Archeological Society. She was a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man.
In addition to her daughter, Dr. Achor is survived by her husband, Hubert E. Achor of Dallas; a stepdaughter of Dallas; and a brother of Riverside, Calif.
Edited from obituary appearing in The Dallas Morning News (TX), February 2, 2005, page 7B
Dr. Achor, 76, died Saturday of acute myeloid leukemia at her Dallas home.
A memorial service will be at 4 p.m. today at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, 4015 Normandy Ave.
Dr. Achor's teaching career included 20 years as an anthropology professor at East Texas State University, now Texas A&M-Commerce. In 1983, she received the Texas Association of College Teachers award for teaching excellence.
"She adored teaching," said her daughter, fashion editor of The Dallas Morning News. "She just liked sharing her knowledge. She was somebody who was totally curious about life and about other people."
Dr. Achor had a subspecialty in medical anthropology and often taught medical professionals about cultural differences that were pertinent to their work, her daughter said.
Born in Dallas, Dr. Achor grew up in New York, Bennington, Vt., Kenosha, Wis., and Kansas City, Mo., as her family moved with her father's sales job. She and her family returned to Texas, where she graduated from Highland Park High School.
She married and raised her family before returning to college. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1969 from Southern Methodist University, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa.
Dr. Achor originally wanted to be an archaeologist but changed her mind after a summer of archaeological digging in New Mexico. Locally, she and her husband did find a primitive site at the confluence of Cottonwood and White Rock creeks, just south of Forest Lane at North Central Expressway.
She taught at Richland College in Dallas and at Texas Woman's University in Denton while she was earning master's and doctorate degrees from SMU.
Dr. Achor lived in a West Dallas barrio for six months to research her doctoral research paper. Her thesis, "Mexican Americans in a Dallas Barrio," was later published by the University of Arizona Press in 1978 and used as a textbook by colleges across the country.
She joined the faculty of East Texas State University in September 1975 and taught until she retired in 1995. In 2001, she was named associate professor emeritus of the university.
Dr. Achor was a longtime member of the Dallas Anthropology Club and the Dallas Archeological Society. She was a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man.
In addition to her daughter, Dr. Achor is survived by her husband, Hubert E. Achor of Dallas; a stepdaughter of Dallas; and a brother of Riverside, Calif.
Edited from obituary appearing in The Dallas Morning News (TX), February 2, 2005, page 7B
Shirley Coolidge Achor was in her late 30s when she resumed her college education. She went on to earn a doctorate degree in anthropology and begin a successful teaching career.
Dr. Achor, 76, died Saturday of acute myeloid leukemia at her Dallas home.
A memorial service will be at 4 p.m. today at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, 4015 Normandy Ave.
Dr. Achor's teaching career included 20 years as an anthropology professor at East Texas State University, now Texas A&M-Commerce. In 1983, she received the Texas Association of College Teachers award for teaching excellence.
"She adored teaching," said her daughter, fashion editor of The Dallas Morning News. "She just liked sharing her knowledge. She was somebody who was totally curious about life and about other people."
Dr. Achor had a subspecialty in medical anthropology and often taught medical professionals about cultural differences that were pertinent to their work, her daughter said.
Born in Dallas, Dr. Achor grew up in New York, Bennington, Vt., Kenosha, Wis., and Kansas City, Mo., as her family moved with her father's sales job. She and her family returned to Texas, where she graduated from Highland Park High School.
She married and raised her family before returning to college. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1969 from Southern Methodist University, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa.
Dr. Achor originally wanted to be an archaeologist but changed her mind after a summer of archaeological digging in New Mexico. Locally, she and her husband did find a primitive site at the confluence of Cottonwood and White Rock creeks, just south of Forest Lane at North Central Expressway.
She taught at Richland College in Dallas and at Texas Woman's University in Denton while she was earning master's and doctorate degrees from SMU.
Dr. Achor lived in a West Dallas barrio for six months to research her doctoral research paper. Her thesis, "Mexican Americans in a Dallas Barrio," was later published by the University of Arizona Press in 1978 and used as a textbook by colleges across the country.
She joined the faculty of East Texas State University in September 1975 and taught until she retired in 1995. In 2001, she was named associate professor emeritus of the university.
Dr. Achor was a longtime member of the Dallas Anthropology Club and the Dallas Archeological Society. She was a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man.
In addition to her daughter, Dr. Achor is survived by her husband, Hubert E. Achor of Dallas; a stepdaughter of Dallas; and a brother of Riverside, Calif.
Edited from obituary appearing in The Dallas Morning News (TX), February 2, 2005, page 7B
Dr. Achor, 76, died Saturday of acute myeloid leukemia at her Dallas home.
A memorial service will be at 4 p.m. today at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, 4015 Normandy Ave.
Dr. Achor's teaching career included 20 years as an anthropology professor at East Texas State University, now Texas A&M-Commerce. In 1983, she received the Texas Association of College Teachers award for teaching excellence.
"She adored teaching," said her daughter, fashion editor of The Dallas Morning News. "She just liked sharing her knowledge. She was somebody who was totally curious about life and about other people."
Dr. Achor had a subspecialty in medical anthropology and often taught medical professionals about cultural differences that were pertinent to their work, her daughter said.
Born in Dallas, Dr. Achor grew up in New York, Bennington, Vt., Kenosha, Wis., and Kansas City, Mo., as her family moved with her father's sales job. She and her family returned to Texas, where she graduated from Highland Park High School.
She married and raised her family before returning to college. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1969 from Southern Methodist University, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa.
Dr. Achor originally wanted to be an archaeologist but changed her mind after a summer of archaeological digging in New Mexico. Locally, she and her husband did find a primitive site at the confluence of Cottonwood and White Rock creeks, just south of Forest Lane at North Central Expressway.
She taught at Richland College in Dallas and at Texas Woman's University in Denton while she was earning master's and doctorate degrees from SMU.
Dr. Achor lived in a West Dallas barrio for six months to research her doctoral research paper. Her thesis, "Mexican Americans in a Dallas Barrio," was later published by the University of Arizona Press in 1978 and used as a textbook by colleges across the country.
She joined the faculty of East Texas State University in September 1975 and taught until she retired in 1995. In 2001, she was named associate professor emeritus of the university.
Dr. Achor was a longtime member of the Dallas Anthropology Club and the Dallas Archeological Society. She was a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man.
In addition to her daughter, Dr. Achor is survived by her husband, Hubert E. Achor of Dallas; a stepdaughter of Dallas; and a brother of Riverside, Calif.
Edited from obituary appearing in The Dallas Morning News (TX), February 2, 2005, page 7B
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