Obituary of Ted Wittner

Wittner- Theodore Philip "Ted" 78 of St. Petersburg passed away Friday March 16, 2007. Born in 1928 in Tampa Florida, son of Jacob and Helen Wittner and younger brother of Harvey. He graduated from old Jefferson High School in Tampa and from the University of Florida with a B.S. in Business Administration. He served in the United States Air Force for several years and was stationed in France for part of that time. He was the founder and owner of Wittner Companies; Wittner & Co., Inc., a holding company; subsidiaries including Wittner National Group, Inc. (employee benefit consulting); Wittner & Associates, Inc., (commercial real estate management) and Benefit One of America, Inc., which was recently sold. At the time of his death, Ted was serving as Chairman of Philip Benjamin Tower and the Benjamin Tower Foundation and was on the boards of Menorah Manor (Founding Chairman), Suncoast Center for Mental Health, TOP Foundation, Golden Triangle Civic Association (Past President), Suncoasters of St. Petersburg and The Arts Center. His past activities included the Chairmanships of The National Bank of St. Petersburg, U.S. Bank of St. Petersburg and Colony Bank of Clearwater. He was the Founding Partner of the R.E. Lee Group/ US L.P., President of the Commerce Club of Pinellas County, Vice President of St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of Goodwill Industries-Suncoast, Director of PARC (Pinellas Assn. for Retarded Children), Trustee of Museum of Fine Arts, Director of Committee of 100/Pinellas County, Trustee of the Menorah Gardens Cemetery, President & Director of Congregation B'nai Israel, Chairman of St. Petersburg Progress, Inc., Founding Governor of the Insurance Exchange of the Americas and member of the City of St. Petersburg Civic Advisory Board and the Eckerd College Foundation. His awards included the Thomas Jefferson H.S. Alumni Association Hall of Fame Inductee 2006; Suncoast Center for Community Mental Health, Inc. Community Service Award for 12 years of outstanding service 2006; Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Award for Distinguished Community Service, 2005, Jewish Federation of Pinellas Co.; "Tree of Life Award" 1993, JNF; "Menorah Manor Award" - 1985 (for service to the nursing home from 1967); "Top Management Distinguished Service Award" - St. Petersburg Sales and Marketing Executives; "Great American Traditions Award" - 1982 - B'nai B'rith International; "Sugar Daddy " - 1980 - Florida Diabetes Association, Pinellas Chapter. Ted was a member of the Treasure Island Tennis & Yacht Club, The Bayou Club, Pasadena Yacht & Country Club, the Tampa Bay Society and the Port of Tampa Masonic Lodge No. 153. Ted had an inventive, creative mind and was extremely entrepreneurialistic. He loved work, travel, the Florida Gators, education and the arts, his friends, and most of all, his family. Ted was predeceased by his father, mother, his first wife, Sylvia Heller Wittner, and brother. He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Jean Giles Wittner; his two daughters, Sharyn Wittner Jacobson and Pamela Anne LeCompte (Moe) of St. Petersburg; his son, Jim Giles (Linda) of Jacksonville; his grandchildren Todd Jacobson (Kari), Marc Jacobson (Lisa), Caron Eve Killeen (Sean), Samuel Heller Green, Brad and Greg LeCompte, and Stephen and Sarah Giles; his great grandchildren Justin, Jordan and Eric Jacobson, Ethan and Casey Killeen; his mother-in-law, his sisters-in-law, his brother-in-law, his nephews and their wives, his great nieces and numerous cousins. Funeral services will be 2PM Monday, March 19, 2007 at Congregation B'nai Israel, 300 58th Street N St. Petersburg with Rabbi Jacob Luski and Hazzan David Sislen officiating. Burial will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park, Largo. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations would be appreciated to the Philip Benjamin Tower, 250 58th Street N. St. Petersburg FL 33710 in memory of Ted Wittner. David C. Gross Funeral Homes of St. Petersburg Florida is serving the Wittner family. Service Information