Shayne Bennett Furtado, 63

Shayne passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family Tuesday, May 3, 2022.

Shayne was born in Lakeland, Florida on October 28, 1958. A lifelong resident of Lakeland, Shayne graduated from Kathleen High School and received a B.S. in Education from Florida Southern College where she was also a member of Kappa Delta Pi and Delta Kappa Gamma.

Inspired by her 1st grade teacher, Shayne always wanted to be a teacher herself. She was a paraprofessional at Kathleen Elementary and Churchwell Elementary while completing her teaching degree. She then taught kindergarten for many years at Socrum Elementary. She loved working with young children and fostering in them a lifelong desire to learn.

Shayne was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother who enjoyed nothing more than spending time with her family. She truly enjoyed being a mother and raising her daughters and she was overjoyed to finally become a grandma (“Gran”) in 2020. She loved being outdoors, especially at the beach – that was her special place. Annual family vacations to Longboat Key started when she was a child, and she continued that tradition with her own family. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, and friend and she will be greatly missed.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Norman and Lois Bennett, and nephew, Jason White.
Survivors include husband, James of Bartow; daughters, April (Peter) Verrill of Cincinnati, Ohio and Tiffany Furtado (Trevor Brown) of Lakeland; one granddaughter, Lorelai Verrill also of Cincinnati, Ohio; sister, Shasta (Ronnie) White of Lakeland and their son Jesse; many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

Funeral service will be Tuesday, May 10, at 10 a.m. with visitation prior from 9 to 10 a.m. at Gentry-Morrison Funeral Home, Southside Chapel, 1727 Bartow Rd. Burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at Gentry-Morrison Funeral Homes.