Jack Sidney Painter

Painter, Jack Sidney, Jr., 59, of St. Petersburg, died Friday June 4, 2004 of a heart attack. He led one of Florida?s largest advertising agencies and was active in numerous civic causes in the Tampa Bay area. He joined Benito Advertising of Tampa in 1974 and rose to become the firm?s president and, in 1982, its chairman of the board. The agency eventually became Fahlgren Martin, which had offices in Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and Tallahassee. He retired from advertising in 1992, but remained active in the business world and the civic causes he loved. He served as a director and officer of numerous area organizations, including the United Way, Easter Seal Society, the Florida Aquarium, the Pinellas County Arts Council and the Salvador Dali Museum. He also helped found the Academy Prep Center for Education in St. Petersburg, a nonprofit, private middle school program for inner city children. A native of Tampa, Mr. Painter graduated from Georgia Tech in 1966 with a degree in industrial engineering. He later earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce in 1968. He first worked for United Airlines in Chicago, working on the airline?s marketing strategy. He later became vice president of Fawcett McDermott Cavanagh Inc., an advertising agency in Hawaii, before coming to Benito. He was a devoted husband to Donna and loving father to Lauren. He was an avid fisherman and snow skier, many people would call him adventuresome. Anderson-McQueen Funeral Homes & Cremation Tribute Center-Ninth Street Chapel.