Dear Patriots, 
It is with great sadness that the I extend the warmest wishes and sincerest prayers of all Florida Tea Party members to the family of Governor Claude Kirk. Governor Kirk was many things and today we mourn his passing.

Governor Kirk was a true Marine & American patriot serving his country in both World War II and the Korean War. Kirk was a successful businessman co-founding American Heritage Life Insurance Company in Jacksonville. In addition, the Governor was a great Republican, being the first Republican Governor elected in Florida since Reconstruction. Governor Kirk was a larger than life personality with nicknames like Claudius Maximus for his charisma and ability to entertain anyone. Governor Kirk was a conservationist who was ahead of his time in environmental policies. Governor Kirk was a devout Christian, pursuing racial equality long before it was accepted to do so in the South. Lastly and most importantly, Governor Kirk was a fine man, devoted to his wife Erika, his children: Sarah, Katherine, William, Frank, Adriana, Claudia and Erik, his 14 grandchildren and his 5 great-grandchildren.

"Governor Kirk was the best of his generation," Everett Wilkinson, Chair of South Florida Tea Party & Florida Tea Party. "I had only known him briefly, but he encompassed everything a Marine and true patriot should be. We shared a love of the Marine Corps and the fight for 'The People' against special interest groups. His passion for life and doing what is right will forever remain with me. Marines don't die, they just get reassigned. I am sure he is guarding a post in heaven."

We have all lost a great man and I ask that you all keep the Kirk family in your prayers.

Sincerely, 
Everett Wilkinson 
South Florida Tea Party 
Florida Tea Party

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Everett Wilkinson is the Chairman of the South Florida Tea Party & Florida Tea Party. His parents named him after legendary Republican US Senator Everett Dirksen who was the Congressman for Peoria, Illinois where Wilkinson's mother grew up. The South Florida Tea Party is the largest most active Tea Party in Florida with over 37,000 active members.

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