Elton Jake Gissendanner II (November 8, 1927 – September 1, 2023) was an American veterinarian and politician from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Life and career

Elton Jake Gissendanner II was born in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

, on November 8, 1927. He married Sarah Frances Ruark, served in the United States Air Force and Georgia Air National Guard, then graduated from the

University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

in 1955. He opened a veterinary practice in

North Miami North Miami is a suburban city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about north of Miami. The city lies on Biscayne Bay and hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University. Originally the "Town of A ...

, would practice for 65 years, and established 20 low-cost spay and neuter clinics. Gissendanner served as mayor of North Miami from 1963 to 1965, then as a member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

from 1967 to 1968, representing the 107th district. As a state representative, he helped to establish the

University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. From 1979 to 1987, he was executive director of the Florida Department of Natural Resources. He resigned after being indicted for bribery in a drug smuggling case. While he was not convicted on that charge, he later pled guilty to obstruction of justice. Elton Gissendanner died in

Sebring, Florida Sebring ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Highlands County, Florida, United States. It is nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District. It is the principal city of th ...

, on September 1, 2023, at the age of 95.

References

1927 births 2023 deaths Members of the Florida House of Representatives Politicians from Tallahassee, Florida 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature {{Florida-FLRepresentative-stub