Ethel “Denney” Bolesta was born in Wylam, England on May 13, 1916. In 1939, she received a degree in Education of the Deaf. She married Burl Bolesta who was serving in the U.S military as a World War II paratrooper in England. Denney came to Tampa in 1944 on the Queen Elizabeth to wait for Burl’s tour of service to end. The Tampa Tribune featured a photo of her as the first war bride – if they only knew what a treasure America was getting!

Soon after arriving in Tampa, Denney pioneered the first hearing testing program in Hillsborough County Schools, sponsored by the County Health Department. In 1948, Mrs. Bolesta started to teach a deaf baby in her home using only oral techniques. Other children followed and their speech and language improved tremendously. In 1961, a group of parents of hearing-impaired children established an oral school where oral techniques were to be used exclusively to teach deaf children.

In 1965, the small as yet unnamed school was moved into an empty office building. The school could not afford a lease, and only minimal rent. The parents scrubbed, painted, and made alterations to the old building to meet occupancy requirements. After a few months the owner leased the building and the school moved into another empty, dirty office building where staff, parents, and volunteers cleaned, painted, and renovated again – a routine that would be repeated four times in three years!

In 1968, a house was bought on Estrella Street through the help of the North Tampa Sertoma Club and a student’s grandfather. The school was named in honor of the late Lt. Col. Robert McCord, a decorated war hero and dedicated parent who was instrumental in making the dream of an oral school in Tampa become a reality.

Denney Bolesta passed away on May 11, 1991, within a week of the school moving to its current location on North Habana Avenue. The school opened its doors as the McCord-Bolesta Speech and Hearing Center. The Center also became known as an Auditory-Verbal program for the hearing impaired, following new, progressive ideas in this highly specialized field.

We are proud to continue the long and rich heritage built upon Mrs. Bolesta’s dedication and vision.

Ethel “Denney” Bolesta

"When the Lord made Bolesta’s heart, he made it big enough to be able to contain all the children of the world and filled it with love to the very top. Then, he ordered it to never stop giving. He gave her the key to each child’s mind and the gift to reach the very heart of each one of them. She was a grandmother that anyone would hope for and a master teacher of all time. Her love and dedication didn’t only reach the children but also were a great support to all the parents who needed help to cope with their problem. Her positive attitude about life and her optimism and hope for a better future kept her school going for years. She invested her life in it and the reaping is going to be fruitful for years to come. Her only goal was to give each child her very best and teach each one of them in a special way to meet that child’s needs. We cannot find the perfect words to describe our beloved Bolesta. If you have never met her, you really don’t know what you have missed. A loving, gifted, caring, dedicated woman who lived her life to the fullest. And to her family, especially Burl, Barbara, Susan, and all five grandchildren, we express our many thanks for sharing your dear wife and mother with us.”

- Rima Lahoud, co-worker and friend