Yamandu Pereyra Acosta died at his home in Eufaula on Thursday evening, Sept. 6. He devoted his life to education, hospitality, international understanding, and making the world a better place. He was a fun-loving, big-hearted person who will be missed by friends from every part of the globe. A memorial service was held on Sept. 10 at First United Methodist Church with Dr. Alan Cassady officiating. Burial was in Clayton Cemetery. Chapman Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Sylvia Viroga Acosta; two daughters, Dr. Alexandra Acosta Conniff of Eufaula and Grace Acosta (Shawn Berger) of Salt Lake City, Utah; four grandchildren, Robert Conniff, Stephen Conniff , Isabella Ruth Berger, and Lilly Katz Berger; his sisters, Graciela Acosta, Yaya Acosta de Castro and Gilda Acosta; and a large extended family. But the most important thing to Yamandu was his marriage and the love that he showed for his wife Sylvia. In the last months of his life he showed his love by caring for her and their love is an inspiration. Mr. Acosta was born on January 15, 1945, in Minas, Lavalleja, Uruguay, to Francisco Pereya and Maruja Pereyra. He studied law in Montevideo, Uruguay, and served as teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL) at the USA-Uruguay Cultural Alliance in 1967. He came to the United States through the Cordell Hull Enrichment Fund for Rural Areas in 1969, settling in Clayton, where he was a member of Clayton United Methodist Church. He earned a bachelor's degree in history and psychology from Troy University in 1975. He continued his education by earning a master's degree in counseling (specializing in psychometry) from Troy in 1976, and added master's certification in school administration (1977) and vocational and industrial administration (1980) from Auburn University, and a Specialist in Education degree from Troy in 1992. He renewed his ESL certification at the University of Bangkok, Thailand, in 2006. Mr. Acosta served the Barbour County Schools from 1969 to 2001, retiring as principal of Clio Elementary School. He held many positions in the system, including classroom teacher, vocational counselor, vocational director, CETA federal program coordinator, and chair of the Accreditation committee. He always sought to show his students the world outside Barbour County, and took them on trips around the state and to Washington, D.C. He served as District IX President of the Association of School Principals, and was special envoy to Latin America for the University of Alabama, 2000-2003. He was Director of the Adult Education Program for Barbour County Schools, 1979-1984. From 2001 to 2008 he was professor of English and Spanish and International Students Coordinator for Andrew College in Cuthbert, Ga. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Russia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the summer of 2008. He served Andrew College as adjunct professor of psychology from 2014-2017. In 2017 he became Andrew's Coordinator of Federal Programs of Fulbright-Hay Scholarships to Argentina and Chile. He and his wife became American citizens in 1978, and were residents of Barbour County for 49 years.