THE ORLANDO SENTINEL
Orlando, Florida
Wednesday, July 28, 1993


If you could sum up Grace Gottfried in one word, it would be ''advocate,'' someone who pleads for another's cause. 

Gottfried was a lifelong community worker and teacher, but she is especially remembered for her work with children. 

She died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. She was 49. 

''She never failed to become involved where children were concerned, although she never had any of her own,'' said Ellen Miller of Childhood Development Services. 

Grace Olivia Steflik Gottfried of 1031 N. Magnolia Ave. in Eustis was a full-time pre-kindergarten coordinator for Childhood Development Services. 

Childhood Development Services works with disadvantaged youngsters before they have to compete with other youngsters in public school. 

''Early intervention for high-risk children saves money down the road,'' Gottfried said in a 1991 Orlando Sentinel interview. ''The idea is to . . . break the cycle.'' 

Her method was simple, direct and effective. 

Once, at a local Junior Woman's Club meeting, Gottfried was asked, ''What makes you happy?'' 

''Other smiling faces and long, quiet walks,'' she replied. 

Joseph Rivers, retired principal of Eustis Heights Elementary, recalled when Gottfried first started teaching second grade at his school. 

''A very giving lady who will certainly be missed by all who knew her,'' Rivers said. ''She was a teacher to us all.'' 

Gottfried, who was born in Daytona Beach, moved to Eustis from Silver Spring, Md., in 1970. She was a Baptist. She was a member of the Eustis Historical Society, the Friends of the Eustis Memorial Library and the Florida State Alumni Association and an honorary member of the Eustis Junior Woman's Club. She also was instrumental in forming the Umatilla Women's Club and worked with United Way and the Parent to Parent organization in Eustis. 

Survivors are her husband, Ted A.; parents, Michael and Betty Steflik, Flagler Beach; sisters, Mechele Conklin, Tallahassee, Marianne Irish and Betty Steflik, both of Portland, Ore. 

Friends may visit from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Harden-Pauli Funeral Home chapel in Eustis. Memorial services will begin at 10 a.m. Friday at the Bay Street Baptist Church in Eustis.

Harden-Pauli Funeral Home in Eustis is handling arrangements.