Former St. Petersburg High School principal and longtime beach motel owner Tom Petit, who once literally gave away the shirt off his back, died in his Treasure Island home Sunday (Jan. 11, 2004). He was 61.
"Somebody at school said they needed a shirt," longtime friend and current Largo High School principal Barbara Thornton said.
"He took his shirt right off. He would do anything to help anyone he knew."
Mr. Petit worked in Pinellas County Schools for more than 25 years, serving as an administrator in three different schools. He was assistant principal at Largo and Seminole high schools before he was named St. Petersburg High principal in 1995. He retired in 1999.
At every stop, friends said, Mr. Petit connected with students, who in turn respected the fun-loving leader.
"Many times, kids fear seeing the principal. But not with Tom," said Paula Hilderbrand, who taught at St. Petersburg High for 20 years.
"He was approachable. He made St. Pete High a family."
And his family was full of jokes.
On Mr. Petit's 42nd birthday, administrators scheduled a fire drill to lure the student body outside.
Once outside, a plane flew overhead with a banner attached: "42 and fading fast."
On another birthday, friends removed all of Mr. Petit's furniture from his office and placed it throughout the school building. His desk wound up in the cafeteria meat locker.
"It was like a scavenger hunt," St. Petersburg High driver's education teacher Steve Flanagan said. "Every time, he had that grin on his face like, "Oh, I'll get you back.'
"I'm going to miss him."
After he retired, Mr. Petit and his wife, Roseanne, traveled the world, visiting Italy, Hawaii and Hong Kong, among other destinations.
They were planning to go skiing in Colorado next week.
The two, who had been married 31 years, also were looking forward to a summer vacation in New Zealand.
"He always joked about how tough it was to wake up at 8:30 every morning," Flanagan said. "He loved retirement."
Mr. Petit also spent time working at Sea Horse Cottages and Apartments, beach villas he and his wife have owned for 24 years.
"He loved talking to people," Roseanne Petit said. "Anybody who was lucky enough to meet him was lucky enough."
Mr. Petit is survived by his wife and a daughter, Elisa Petit, of Atlanta. Funeral arrangements are pending.
