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

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Life and career

Elton Jake Gissendanner II was born in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

, 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 The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine is a college within the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, United States and is a top 10 ranked veterinary school. History A comprehensive history of the College, ''The Year of ...

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, and the North Miami campu ...

, 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 of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

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

University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine is the veterinary school of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The college only enrolls professional program D.V.M. students and graduate students pursuing M.S. or Ph.D. de ...

. 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 the south-central Florida and is the county seat of Highlands County, Florida, United States, nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District. As of t ...

, 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 {{Florida-politician-stub