Former Florida College Professor Dies Suddenly at 53

Longtime Temple Terrace resident and former Florida College professor Marty Pickup died suddenly Tuesday, according to a press release from the City of Temple Terrace.

Pickup, 53, was playing tennis at the Temple Terrace Family Recreation Complex at about 11:15 a.m. Tuesday when he suddenly collapsed on the court, authorities said in the release.

Rec center personnel performed CPR, deployed an automated external defibrillator (AED) and called 9-1-1. When the Temple Terrace Fire Department arrived, Pickup was in cardiac arrest, said Temple Terrace Fire Chief Keith Chapman in the release.

Pickup was transported to Florida Hospital Tampa, where he was pronounced deceased, according to the release.

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Pickup was a full-time professor of Bible Studies at Florida College from 1988-2004, the release states. He continued to serve on occasion as an adjunct professor at the college and was an elder at Valrico Church of Christ.

“Mr. Pickup’s father and grandfather also taught at Florida College, and the family has a long and lasting history with Temple Terrace and the surrounding community,” the release states.