Peter James "Pete" Breslin

Peter James " Pete" Breslin passed away March 15, 2011. Pete was born on January 8, 1951 in Jacksonville, FL and had lived in Tallahassee for many years. He was a graduate of Wolfson High School in Jacksonville. Pete graduated from North Florida Community College where he was President of the Student Government and was also a graduate of Florida State University. Pete began his career in government and politics with the Leon County Clerk of Courts office. He then worked for United States Senator Paula Hawkins which was one of the great joys in his career. Pete was appointed Deputy Secretary of the former Department of Professional Regulation under Governor Bob Martinez. He also worked for Associated Industries of Florida under Jon Shebel and was a major donor fundraiser for the Republican Party of Florida. Pete was known around Florida as having one of the most knowledgeable minds in Republican politics which he dearly loved. Pete was preceded in death by his parents, George and Alma Breslin. He is survived by two daughters, Brooks Breslin and Elizabeth Breslin both of Tallahassee; a brother, George Breslin of Jacksonville; and his close friend and caregiver Michael Dechman of Thomasville, GA. A memorial service will be held 3:00 p.m. Friday, March 18, 2011 at Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home, 1737 Riggins Road, Tallahassee, FL. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Alzheimers Project, 301 East Tharpe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32303.

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Published by Tallahassee Democrat on Mar. 17, 2011.

Memories and Condolences
for Peter Breslin

23 Entries

john wehrung

March 11, 2019

Still missing you old friend. Praying for your kind soul & for your wonderful family. Nancy & the girls are shining examples of love, dignity & perseverance. God Bless You All.

August 6, 2011

Have only just learned of Pete's passing. We spent many hours together
in our youth. I knew Pete from 2nd grade at Hendricks Ave through our Jr. and HS years at Dupont and Wolfson in
Jacksonville. I remember when we accidentally closed his dog Bud's tail in my dad's car door. Oops! We had many laughs, as Pete had the best sense of humor. I wish I had not lost touch all those years. But it is heartwarming to hear of how much love filled his life. And how he obviously touched the lives of many directly and even indirectly. I'm so happy he had a loving family. Sorry this is so late, but my condolences and prayers go out to his wife and daughters. I'm sure you miss him terribly.

Nancy Hucker, Jacksonville, Florida

Dan Weimar

May 21, 2011

Pete and I first met at Wolfson High School and then lived together at North Florida Jr. College (Baker House) and again several times post college. Unfortunately we went our separate ways in the late seventies and I lost contact him. He was honorable and trustworthy friend that will be missed. My heart felt sympathy goes to Brooks and Elizabeth. May God’s grace and peace be with you.

Ed White

April 4, 2011

Pete was a good friend . . . wise before his time - so witty and funny. I'm glad to see his life was so full since we were having fun in high school. I haven't seen Pete in years but always enjoyed it when I did. Please know that your Husband and Dad was much loved and will be dearly missed.

Maxie (Maxine) Canant (Goldberg)

April 3, 2011

I remember Pete very fondly from Hendricks. I remember when he was running on school property and ran into a pole that split his head open. I remember running to my teacher, his mother, Alma Beslin, to tell her. I remember praying for him that he would live and be good as new. Looks like he turned out even better than new! He was so cute and energetic and so very friendly, and we shared a lot in common; attending a school where our mother taught. Not easy, but Pete pulled it off without a hitch. My mother sent me to the Dean of Women at Landon. Nancy, we have never met, but I hope that your wonderful memories of Pete will help give you courage and strength to face all of this and raise your 2 children. You must be pretty special if Pete picked you for a wife!

Pete, may you rest in peace for all eternity.

Mary Toney

April 3, 2011

Pete and I were special friends in 7th and 8th grade, but eventually lost touch after I went to Bishop Kenny for high school. He was funny, very sweet and a wonderful friend.
I will remember his family and friends in my prayers, and ask God to comfort them all.
Mary

Dianne Cain-Peacock

March 23, 2011

Pete was one of the friendliest and happiest friends on campus at NFJC many years ago. I am sure heaven is a happier place having him there to share his smiles and laughs. My prayers go out to his beloved family.

Greg Williams

March 22, 2011

Sad to hear of Pete's passing. He was one for the first persons who befriended me when I moved to Tallahassee to work for U.S. Senator Connie Mack in 1987. We shared many conversations at Clyde's where I found out we both attended Wolfson HS and grew up in the San Marco / Lakewood section of Jacksonville and that his mom was one of my teachers at Hendricks Ave Elementary School. Thanks for your insight and friendship. Rest in peace my good friend!

Greg Williams

March 22, 2011

When I moved to Tallahassee for my job with Senator Connie Mack in 1986, Pete was one of the first to introduce himself. Many a conversations we had at Clydes. It was extra special to learn that we grew up in the same part of Jacksonville (but not at the same time) and his mom was on of my teachers at Hendricks. To a fellow Wolfson HS grad and a Southsider - God Speed Pete! Prayers to his family.

Marian and John

March 22, 2011

TWO FRIENDS REMEMBER PETE BRESLIN
G.O.P. (Good ‘Ol Pete) Breslin
Last week’s passing of our old friend Pete Breslin was very sad news indeed. His crowded memorial service was a magnificent tribute to what a wonderful person Pete Breslin truly was and evidence of the profound impact Pete had on many of our lives.
A friend to practically anyone who met him, Pete was a great guy to be around. He knew Florida politics backwards and forwards and was always quick with some interesting political facts, a joke or a just compliment to make people feel at ease.
Pete Breslin was a regular guy, someone easy to talk to and that gift gave him the ability to have a truly positive effect on the thousands of friends he came in contact with over a 30+ year career in politics.
While it’s true that he was a friend to practically anyone, if you were a Democrat, you had to prove your worthiness as a human being to Pete’s satisfaction first. And there was a catch.
If you were successful at proving yourself worthy, Pete would then use your worthiness against you and try to get you to switch parties. He would say, “You’re too smart or too good a person to be a Democrat.” But Pete did it with humor, a big heart and a kind soul in every sense of the word.
One thing to keep in mind is that although Pete’s life was cut short and his final years blurred by disease, in the end Pete did have a wonderful and very fulfilling life.
Pete worked for United States Senator Paula Hawkins, which was noted as one of the great joys in his career. He served as Governor Bob Martinez’s Deputy Secretary of the Department of Professional Regulation and was a major donor fundraiser for the Republican Party of Florida.
Although it may seem overly partisan to some, Pete’s memorial service was also a special reminder of Pete Breslin’s role in the Republican cause he believed in so passionately. That cause helped set the course of history for the state of Florida and our country that he so loved.
Pete gave of himself and put his life’s energy into protecting his family by fighting for a higher purpose---something greater than himself. This was a great sacrifice that should not go unnoticed.
Many of us knew Pete best from his days at Associated Industries of Florida working loyally under Jon Shebel. And that’s when Pete was at his best--when he was working for the cause.
At the time, there were many people working on a mission to unite the Republican Party together with the business community and Pete Breslin would make the case that if the Republican Party ever wanted to truly become a majority and take over Florida, the GOP needed to be the party of business---plain and simple.
For this to happen, Pete would say, the GOP would have to recruit and support pro-business candidates over trial lawyers, over radical environmentalists and over big government union apologists.
Pete Breslin was relentless. He would say, ‘business wants legislators that are pro-free enterprise, anti-tax, anti-regulation and anti-litigation, and that’s the only way Republicans can win because that’s the only way business will support Republicans.’
At the time, the Republicans were in the minority (we had been since 1872), but we were on the rise and many of us were young and hungry for the power and glory of majority. So to capture the majority, many of us didn’t really care who we elected, as long as they had an “R” behind their name.
Pete would scoff at such a notion. Some of us would make the mistake of disagreeing with Pete, arguing that if the GOP just got control, things would get better and we would magically become more pro-business through tough leadership.
But Pete was right. True power comes from the bottom-up, not the top down. Eventually Pete wore many of us down (like only Pete Breslin could) and we became ‘pro-business Republican crusaders.’
The Republicans went on to recruit others to the cause and eventually the GOP won the majority and, for the most part, Republicans stuck to their pro-business promises.
So Pete Breslin was one of the unsung heroes and cornerstones of the Republicans taking the Florida Legislature and eventually the entire statewide cabinet.
It’s not that the GOP would never have taken the majority without him, but Pete was an early foot soldier in the Republican Revolution, helping to sell the concept of pro-business Republicans to anyone who would listen. Pete was a ground floor investor in the idea of matchmaking between business and the Republican Party.
At the same time Pete Breslin played a key role in convincing Republicans to recruit and support pro-business candidates, he was making the case to the Florida business community to recognize the natural synergy between free enterprise and the GOP platform and that businesses---small, medium and large---needed a place at the table in the Republican Party.
In the Tallahassee community, the entire Breslin family holds a very special place in our hearts. Pete loved his family, his wife and daughters more than anything in the world, and in that love he found a mission to protect them for the future--a crusade for liberty to make the world a better place; to save our country from those who would take it away from the people he loved.
His genuineness and friendliness, his caring and concern, his ability to make people feel welcome, his sense of humor and most importantly his passion for fairness and commonsense were all trademarks of Pete Breslin. He helped many of us to shape our character and make us better people.
Those values made him a good man and a terrific father. But his desire to serve a higher purpose and fight to protect those important values is what makes a good man great. Imparting those qualities to others will be one of Pete Breslin’s greatest legacies.
It is only now, as we look back in retrospect, that we realize how important Pete Breslin truly was in our lives and how grateful we should all be to our Creator for placing Pete with us.
We can only hope that someday, when it’s our time to settle with our Maker, that we will have been able to do our duty as human beings-- by living our lives as we have been taught by great Americans like Pete Breslin and say that have handed down those important traditions and values to the next generation.
Because we love Pete and Nancy and their wonderful daughters Brooks and Elizabeth, when you grieve, we grieve. We grieve for you and are sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are truly with you right now as you move forward with life.
It must be terribly difficult for Nancy, Brooks and Elizabeth to feel the absence of Pete’s presence. But we hope you can take comfort in the knowledge that Pete is now finally at peace--with no fear, no pain and no regret--knowing he has beautiful daughters in the world and their wonderful mother who are making a great life for themselves and those around them.
Your happiness is what Pete wanted most out of life: joy for you girls, your future families and for all that you hold dear. Faith tells us that Pete’s spirit will be with you now, as he looks down from heaven and smiles on your success and happiness as you go through life. And Faith guarantees us that Pete will love and protect you, as only a father can.
Our deepest sympathies are with you and our prayers go out for all who loved Pete Breslin as we did. We pray that our fond memories of Pete will soon replace the pain we feel in our hearts.
So long old friend and Godspeed to you, Good ‘Ol Pete Breslin.
Marian Johnson & John Wehrung
TWO FRIENDS OF PETE BRESLIN

Mac Mclendon

March 21, 2011

I was sorry to hear of Petes passing. Though I had not seen Pete for the past few years I have fond memories of our visits. Be in Peace!

Michele Thompson Reed

March 21, 2011

My sympathy to the Breslin family. I knew Pete way back in the great FSU days. We all will surely miss him.

Janet Lowenthal

March 21, 2011

My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. May your memories bring you comfort.

Doug Diamond

March 18, 2011

I grew up with Pete on Peachtree Circle E part of my years at Hendricks Elementary. I had Mrs Breslin as a teacher also. I saw Pete some in the 80's when I was President of the Duval County Young Republicans and would see Pete at some political functions. He was simply always a very nice person when I was around him. My sympathy to his family.

March 18, 2011

Pete and I were classmates at Wolfson High School. Pete always had a friendly smile and a contagious laugh. What I remember most was his love of dancing, he was extremely good. I was lucky enough to have had many dances with him. Great memories !
My sincere condolences to all of his family....... Barbara Catone King

Charlie Bennett

March 18, 2011

Pete and I go back to Wolfson High, NFJC, and FSU. We had so many good times together! I loved people with a funny and quick wit, and he was one of the best. So sorry to the Breslin family. I will miss him and remember all the laughs we had! Rest in Peace my friend!

Dave Mullarkey

March 17, 2011

What a loss! Pete was a very good friend of my brother's all through and school. He was very helpful to my family after our loss of my brother. Pete was quick to smile & laugh. I regret not seeing him in the last many years, but he and his brother are in my prayers. God Bless you Pete.

Becky Nelson

March 17, 2011

Pete was an old and dear friend. I have many fun and happy memories of times we all spent together, especially during our college years. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of his family.

Jane Hennessy

March 17, 2011

My sincere condolences ... thinking of you and your family.

Sam Hurst

March 17, 2011

Pete was a good friend and a great person to work with. He will be missed by many. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Melanie O'Leary

March 17, 2011

My deepest sympathies for your tragic loss, my thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Sincerely, Melanie Anderson O'Leary

Beth Sumners

March 17, 2011

My deepest condolences ... our thoughts and prayers are with you ...