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In Memoriam Departed in 2006

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 31, 2006

They were educators and politicians, developers and community activists who had a profound impact in Pinellas County and beyond. As 2006 draws to a close, we pay tribute those who died this year, but whose influence lives on.

Anne Anderson, who taught more than 3,000 schoolchildren the rules of etiquette over 11 years as the director of the southern Pinellas County chapter of the National League of Junior Cotillions, died Jan. 4. She was 48.

Everett Lee "Bud" Roberts, St. Petersburg High School's first full-time bandmaster, died Jan. 16 at 91. He led the band for two decades and was assistant principal for 12 years until his retirement in 1980.

Tom Reese, who mentored artists including author Jack Kerouac and Doors front man Jim Morrison, died Jan. 19 at 88. Mr. Reese began his career as a painter, writer and ballet dancer but made his mark with his coffeehouse, Beaux Arts in Pinellas Park.

Lenny Dee, known as "Mr. Entertainment" on Pinellas beaches for more than 30 years, died Feb. 12 at 83. He was an organist and singer known for his campy humor. He sold more than a million copies of the hit song he wrote, Plantation Boogie.

Eleanor Stewart Marr, retired schoolteacher and philanthropist, died Feb. 13 on her 101st birthday. Mrs. Marr taught Latin and English for 40 years and gave $1-million to the St. Petersburg Family YMCA for a facility in the Central Plaza neighborhood.

Charles J. Kaniss, Pinellas County's elections supervisor for a dozen years and a former St. Petersburg council member, died April 26 at 88. During his tenure, he implemented the punch-card voting system to replace lever machines.

Martha P. Little, a library media specialist at Canterbury School of Florida for nearly three decades, died May 3 at 63.

Michael Dayton, veteran actor who starred in many American Stage Theatre Company performances, died May 8 at 61. He had roles in Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, The Taming of the Shrew and Spinning Into Butter.

Dennis R. Crenshaw, a 34-year Pinellas educator, died May 10 at 55. Mr. Crenshaw taught marine science at Boca Ciega High and introduced many kids to the beauty of the Everglades through camping trips.

Frances Purdy, community volunteer and Gulfport historian, died May 30 at 95. Miss Purdy edited Our Story of Gulfport, Florida, a book of shared memories from residents.

Holland G. Mangum, who helped found the city of Seminole and served as its first mayor, died June 7 at 84.

Margaret Estelle Lane Anderson, the last of the four founders of Anderson-McQueen Funeral Homes, died July 9. Her family declined to give her age.

Ruth Eckerd, a Tampa native best known for the Clearwater performing arts hall that bears her name, died July 18 at 84. She and her husband, Eckerd drugstores founder Jack Eckerd, donated millions to county arts, educational, health care and social service organizations.

Paul H. Roney, a St. Petersburg attorney who rose to prominence as chief judge of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, died Sept. 16 at 85. A longtime St. Petersburg resident, Judge Roney was a noted champion of civil rights, helping to racially integrate the Bar Association in St. Petersburg as a young lawyer.

Armand "Sandy" Burke, a former Pinellas Park mayor and council member, died Oct. 12 at 80.

Bishop Emeritus W. Thomas Larkin, who led the St. Petersburg diocese through a decade of explosive growth and was a friend of the late pope, died Nov. 4 at 83. Bishop Larkin, who was the seminary roommate of the late Pope John Paul II, was appointed by the pope as the second bishop of the burgeoning Diocese of St. Petersburg, serving from 1979 to 1988.

Mary R. Grizzle, one of Pinellas County's most successful politicians, died Nov. 9 at 85. Mrs. Grizzle was the first Republican woman elected to the Florida Legislature, and was perhaps best known as the co-sponsor of a 1972 bill that set strict standards on sewage dumped into Tampa Bay.

Christine O'Brien, who helped start the annual "people's fair" called Circus McGurkis, died Nov. 14 at 57.

[Last modified December 30, 2006, 22:12:49]