The plaque said, “To be a teacher is to amend the past, enhance the present and touch the future,” and it sat on Todd Pace’s desk at Locust Grove Elementary School.
While it says a lot about how Mr. Pace felt about being a teacher, it speaks volumes about how he acted as a teacher, said Christi Peterman, principal of Locust Grove.
“One of the big things we focus on here is building relationships with students,” Ms. Peterman said. “And he was very good at building those relationships.”
Mr. Pace gave his students direction, encouragement and hope; all evidenced Friday when the principal had to break the news of his death to students.
“We asked them to write their feelings about Mr. Pace on Post-it Notes,” she said. “And now all of those pieces of paper cover his classroom door.”
Todd Mark Pace, of McDonough, died Friday at the home he shared with his parents and sister, from complications associated with an advanced stage of cancer. He was 44. His body was cremated and a memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, at First Baptist Church Locust Grove. SouthCare Cremation Society and Memorial Center, Stockbridge, was in charge of arrangements.
Becoming a teacher was Mr. Pace’s “true calling in life,” said his father, Jon Pace, of McDonough.
“Obviously, that’s what he was meant to do, be a school teacher,” Mr. Pace said of his son.
Born and raised in Cobb County, Todd Pace graduated from Sprayberry High School in 1985. He earned a political science degree from the University of Georgia and later went to Kennesaw State University and earned a second bachelor’s degree in education.
While working on his education degree, he substitute taught in Cobb County schools, many times at Mount Bethel Elementary.
During a road trip to Los Angeles, just before he was diagnosed with cancer, he told a friend why he loved to teach.
“He said it was rewarding to see a kid go from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, and all of the maturity and growth that comes with that,” said Walt Murray, a buddy from college who lives in Woodstock. “He definitely had a passion for it.”
Mr. Pace also had a passion for high school sports, and served as a referee for the Georgia Football Officials Association. After his cancer diagnosis, he kept a journal on the website CaringBride, where he talked about his health and sports. In an Aug. 30 entry, he wrote: “I have been assigned to a football game this Friday! For anybody worried that I'm pushing it a little, don't fear. I am scheduled to be the clock operator. However, I am hoping to referee games on the field ASAP!”
As his illness progressed, he would postpone procedures and treatments so he could spend more time with his class, with family and doing things he loved.
“I can tell you he did not want to leave these kids,” Ms. Peterman said. “He put the children before what he should have been doing for himself.”
Jon Pace said his son spent “his whole life in service to others.”
“He spent more time doing things for others than he spent doing things for himself,” Mr. Pace said of his son. “That’s just who he was.”
In addition to his father, Mr. Pace is also survived by his mother, Diane K. Pace, of McDonough; sister Deborah J. Pace of McDonough; and brothers David Pace of Kennesaw and Kimbrough Pace of Locust Grove.
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