COUNCIL, Buford Whitney, 86, of Ruskin, died Thursday, May 8, 2003. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Louise Pritchard; his parents, Columbus Lee "Whit" and Margaret Dole Council; his brother, Emmett H. "Bub" Council; and his sister, Hilda Jorgensen. He is survived by his sons, Buford W.(Butch) Council, Jr., of Ruskin, Fla., Richard Edwin Council of New York, New York and Robert Bruce Council of Signal Mountain, Tennessee; by his brother, Robert Lee Council of Punta Gorda, Fla.; four grandchildren, Chimene Antionette Sweet, Kyle Whitney Council, William Hurst Council and Maia Lauren Council; a great-grand-daughter, Ysabeth Antionette Sweet; and many nephews and nieces. Buford Council was born on September 12, 1916, on Terra Ceia Island in Manatee County, and was a graduate of Palmetto High School. He moved with his parents and two brothers and sister to Ruskin in Hillsborough County in 1934 and engaged in farming with his father and brothers, When the United States entered World War II, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and served as a multi-engine transport pilot with the Air Transport Command. He spent one year of overseas duty in Africa. Council remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve after the war, retiring with the rank of Lt. Colonel as the executive officer of the 9329th Air Recovery Squadron based in Tampa. After the war, he returned to Ruskin to continue in the family farming business. He was Secretary-Treasurer of Council Farms Inc. of Ruskin until his retirement in 1986. Council Farms specialized in tomato, cattle and citrus production. He was a director of the Ruskin Vegetable Corporation that operated the Co-Op packing plant at Apollo Beach and was active in several important agricultural trade organiza- tions. He became a director in the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association in 1961 and served two one-year terms as its president in 1971-73. He also served a term as Vice President of the organization; was a member of its executive committee; and was named Director Emeritus by the FFVA in 1988. He was also Chairman of the Florida Tomato Committee 1968-1971, repre- senting the Hillsborough County region tomato-growing industry in international trade negotiations. The Gamma Sigma Delta fraternity of the University of Florida recognized him in 1969 with its Award for Service to Agriculture. Council was appointed a Planning Commissioner on the Hills- borough County Planning Commission 1983-87, and was on the board of directors of Barnett Bank in Ruskin. He was a member of the QB's (Quiet Birdmen), a fraternal order of pilots, and the Order of Daedelians, an association of Air Force pilots. He was an active Rotarian, and was named a Paul Harris Fellow. He was an avid hunter and fisherman his entire life. He was a member of the Ruskin United Methodist Church. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Lewers Funeral Chapel of Ruskin. Visitation will be at Lewers Funeral Home, Ruskin, Florida, Sunday, May 11, 2003 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Services will be held at Ruskin United Methodist Church, May 12, 2003 at 10:00 a.m., followed by interment at Ruskin Memorial Park.
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Obituaries The Tampa Tribune - Sunday, May 11, 2003