Phyllis B. Acosta, Ph.D.: Obituary

Phyllis B. Acosta, Ph.D., age 84, of Cleveland, TN, passed away on Sunday, September 30, 2018. Born on December 27, 1933, in the Shoal Creek Community, she was the daughter of Leonard Jesse Brown and Pauline Boring Brown. She was of the Christian faith. She received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Foods and Nutrition from Andrews University in 1955, her Master’s of Science in Nutrition from the University of Iowa in 1957, her Master’s of Public Health in Nutrition from UCLA in 1966, and her Ph.D. in Nutrition from UCLA in 1969. She was a Nutritionist for Ross/Abbott Laboratories. She was active in many organizations including the Georgia Dietetics Association, Society for Inherited Metabolic Diseases, Southeastern Regional Genetics Group, and Society for the Inborn Errors of Metabolism.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Clinton Victor Acosta; and siblings, Dwight and Gwendyl Brown.

Dr. Acosta is survived by her children; Aissa Acosta of Cleveland, TN Mitzi Acosta Bame and her husband, Mark of Yakima, WA, and Clinton Victor Acosta, Jr. of Tucson, AZ; grandchildren, Nicholas Fanelli, Misha Fanelli, Jessa Bame and Clinton Bame; and siblings, Doris Brown and Harold Brown.

Funeral services will be conducted on Friday, October 5, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. from the Akins Funeral Home of Copperhill Chapel. Nicholas Fanelli, Misha Fanelli, and Jessa Bame will officiate. Music will be provided by Barbara Brown. Interment will follow in the Shoal Creek Baptist Church Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Mark Bame, Misha Fanelli, Nicholas Fanelli, and Terry Harris. The family will visit with friends at the funeral home on Friday from 11:00 a.m. until the funeral hour of 12:00 p.m. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.akinsfuneralhome. Akins Funeral Home of Copperhill is in charge of the arrangements.