William M. Painter

William “Buddy” Manning Painter was born on August 25, 1932 in Matoaka, West Virginia to parents William Wythe Painter and Lera Ninabeth Manning. After graduating high school he joined the Air Force at age 18 on July 29, 1951. During his time in the Air Force he spent much of his time as a non-commissioned officer in the Medical Administrative Career Field. During his time, he would be stationed in Texas, Japan, Vietnam and eventually the Philippines where he would meet his future wife Ligaya Tracina. They met in the restaurant owned by Ligaya’s aunt. He retired from the Air Force with honors at age 38 on July 31, 1971. Two years later, he would marry his sweetheart on April 30, 1973 in the city of San Juan, Rizal Province in the Philippines. After returning to the US, they would settle in Largo, Florida to be close to his parents, brother Ivan and family – they planted their roots in Largo to live and work, attend church and raise their family.

Growing up, he was a whiz kid and loved math especially. He would often pride himself on being a human calculator, solving complex problems in his head. In his downtime, he enjoyed fishing immensely and being outdoors. He was a sports fanatic (especially baseball and football) and could recall teams, game highlights and scores from the Super Bowl of 1981. He attended the First United Methodist Church of Largo for decades, where he an usher for many years. His main mode of transportation was his bicycle where he would ride to and from work, the park or the pier for fishing, grocery store…you name it! He loved watching old western movies starring John Wayne and listening to country music, his favorite was Johnny Cash. Above all, he cherished spending time with Ligaya, dancing and singing Karaoke at the local hangout (Inglewood Inn) until the wee hours of the morning, donning his cowboy hat and boots.

Buddy is survived by his wife Ligaya, daughters Margaret and Patricia; grandchildren Logan, Annabelle, Jimmy and Jonathan ; sister Phyllis; along with a very large, loving family of nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family.