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Kelvin Royal, 26, prep teacherBy GREG WILLIAMS © St. Petersburg Times, published November 5, 2000 ST. PETERSBURG -- Kelvin "Kal" George Royal, a teacher at Academy Prep Center for Education in St. Petersburg, died at his home Wednesday of an aneurysm. He was 26. "He always told his students that he loved teaching, and he felt like he had a purpose in his life through teaching," said his fiancee, Marchanna Bush. "He was a very giving person, and he didn't take life for granted. Even though he died at 26, he lived a full life." Mr. Royal was a native of St. Petersburg and earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications in 1997 from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. The school where he taught, Academy Prep, opened in 1997 and provides education and guidance to disadvantaged boys and girls in grades five through eight. Many of the school's students don't have fathers at home, the school's director, John Effinger, told a Times columnist last year. Mr. Royal was a former teacher at Mount Zion Christian Academy in St. Petersburg and taught Sunday school at Faith Community Worship Center in St. Petersburg. He also was a member of the center's drama team, worked in its audio-visual ministry and was a founder of the Praise and Worship Fellowship Group. Mr. Royal was a 1992 graduate of Northside Christian High School, where he played basketball. He was a member of the St. Petersburg Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was recognized in Who's Who Among American High School and College Students. Survivors include his mother, Cora Hicks Royal, St. Petersburg; three brothers, Kevin Royal, Kerneal Royal and Keith Lawton, all of St. Petersburg; four sisters, Aleta Holloway, Frankfurt, Germany, Gloria Jean Aikens and Michelle Royal, both of St. Petersburg, and Lolita Royal, Virginia; a grandmother, Maggie Church Brown, St. Petersburg; and his fiancee, Marchanna Bush, St. Petersburg. A wake and visitation will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Zion Hill Mortuary, 1700 49th St. S, St. Petersburg, and a funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Faith Community Worship Center, 1200 30th Ave. N, St. Petersburg. - Information from Times files was used in this obituary.
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