By Ron Hayes DELRAY BEACH — Mary Alice Pugh’s life was all about
finding new horizons. Born Mary Alice Selby on Jan. 14, 1944, in
Martins Ferry, Ohio, she earned a bachelor’s degree in laboratory
medicine at West Virginia University. She married David Pugh in
1966; they started a family. After her two sons were raised, Mrs.
Pugh returned to college to earn a master’s degree in education
from Nova University in Fort Lauderdale, and began a second career
as a teacher. And then, in 1993, she and a colleague founded New
Horizon Academy in the basement of a Boca Raton office building. At
the time of her death, Sept. 2, New Horizon Academy was thriving in
its own building, a fully accredited private school dedicated to
small classes. “There were schools for dropouts and schools for the
gifted, but we saw a need for the average student who just needed
smaller classes,” recalls Dr. Barbara Rackett, who co-founded the
school with Mrs. Pugh. “For the first couple of years we both
taught. She taught anatomy and physiology to high school students,
and she was very, very active and with a lot of energy.” Mrs. Pugh
was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, but remained active with
the school until April. “She always had a real commitment to
education,” her husband recalled. “Even when raising our two boys,
she was very active in the schools and started a leadership
conference in the high school. She had been a good student herself;
I guess that’s why,” he said. “New Horizon will continue.” A
resident of Delray Beach since 1991, Mrs. Pugh was a member of
First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach. In addition to her
husband, she is survived by two sons, Todd and Michael, both of
Chicago, Ill.; two brothers, John, of San Diego, Calif., and
Edward, of Middlefield, Ohio. A burial service was held in Martins
Ferry on Sept.10. Donations in her name may be made to the Susan G.
Komen for the Cure, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265, and Hospice
by the Sea, 1521 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL 33486.
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