"Kids trusted him," said Hillsborough County school board member Candy Olson. "They knew he cared about them. His actions were probably more important than his words."

Known as one of Hillsborough County's pioneering black educators, Alfred Lee Barnes Jr. died Tuesday at University Community Hospital of an apparent heart attack, according to his wife, Olga. He was 69.

Barnes retired from the district in 2000 after 40 years of serving the county's children. In 1965, he became one of the first five black teachers transferred to an all-white school, Riverhills Elementary, according to published reports.

He later became the first black head football coach selected by the administration at a predominantly white school, Hillsborough High.

In January 1976, he became Plant High's human resources specialist, working with students at risk of failing.

"He was always the person to go to when you had a kid you wanted to reach," deputy superintendent Ken Otero said. "He always did whatever was the best thing for a kid, even if it was not in his best interest personally."

Otero was in his first year of teaching when Barnes transferred to Plant and the two quickly became friends.

"He took me in and really, really helped me as a person and an educator," Otero said. "If I need my own kids to talk to somebody, he would be that person. He did more for kids than just about anybody I know."

When Al Barnes retired in 2000, he talked to the Tribune about how jobs were scarce for black teachers in the '60s.

He said he was happy to be teaching physical education at two all-black elementary schools, Progress Village and Henderson, now torn down.

He traveled between the two schools for four years, until September 1965 when he was integrated into the all-white faculty at Riverhills Elementary.

"I didn't know where it was, and I didn't want to go. I was happy where I was," Barnes said.

Up until then, he had never attended school with white children nor taught with white teachers. He said he told his mother he wanted to quit, but she wouldn't hear of it.

"Well, she was right," Barnes said. "It was the best decision of my life."

One of his students later assumed the city's highest position.

"Al Barnes was a dear friend to me and my husband and an early role model in my life," Mayor Pam Iorio said in a statement released today to the media. "He was my P.E. coach at Riverhills Elementary School and taught me about teamwork and fair play.

"He coached thousands of students throughout his career – inspiring and encouraging young people to do their best," she said.

Iorio later appointed her favorite teacher as a member of the Tampa Sports Authority where he served for five years.

"He was a special man who will be terribly missed by all who knew him and who made this community a better place," Iorio said.

Born in West Tampa, Barnes grew up in the North Boulevard Homes. His late mother, Martha, worked at Viola Todd's dress shop. His stepfather, Oakree Hull, 96, was an elevator operator at Wolf Bros.

His wife, Olga, was a longtime Spanish teacher at Chamberlain High School. She retired from the job twice, the last time in 2007, she said. They have two sons, Alfred III and Zane, and two granddaughters, Luisa and Angelita.

The couple would have celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary in December. They dated for seven years before they married.

"He's the only boyfriend I ever had," Olga Barnes said. "He's the only man I ever kissed. I was 13 and he was 15."

A lover of antiques and flea markets, her husband collected clocks and pocket watches, she said.

"I haven't counted all of them," Olga Barnes said. "There are so many."

He also loved the linguine with clam sauce at Carmine's restaurant in Ybor City, she said.

"That was his special place" she said. "He would hold court there."

Carmine's is where Otero last saw Barnes several weeks ago, he said. They talked about the Omega wristwatch that Barnes helped Otero's father find to buy him many years ago.

Barnes' wife said the loss of her husband is heartbreaking.

"I feel so empty, so very empty," she said, sighing. "I couldn't even sleep in our bed last night. I slept on the sofa. It left such a void."

That void is being filled by the love of friends and family, she said.

Their house was inundated with her husband's former students and football players Tuesday night after hearing of his death.

"Many of them called him their second dad," she said. "So many of them told us that he transcended race and differences. He was a friend, a teacher and a mentor to children and people regardless of where they came from.

"It wasn't so black and white with him," she said. "It was: be human and caring."

Funeral services have been set for 3:30 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church of College Hill at 3838 N. 29th St.

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