Robert Lee Bannerman Jr.

Robert L. Bannerman Jr. Robert Lee Bannerman Jr., 78, died Monday, June 2, 2003. The service will be at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday at Faith Presbyterian Church, with burial at Oakland Cemetery. Family will receive friends immediately following the service at the cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Columbarium Fund of Faith Presbyterian Church, 2200 N. Meridian Road, Tallahassee, FL 32303. Bevis Funeral Home in Tallahassee (385-2193) is handling arrangements. A lifelong resident of Tallahassee, he was the son of Robert Lee Bannerman and Sarah Lucile Dixon Bannerman and the great-grandson of Charles Bannerman, one of Leon County's earliest settlers. After Navy service in the Pacific Theater during World War II, he returned to Tallahassee to attend Florida State College for Women and was a member of the first graduating class of Florida State University. As a young G.I. student, he was on the first Varsity and International Debating Team and enjoyed many aspects of life on the young university's campus, including charter membership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Several years after graduation he was hired by then-president Doak Campbell and worked in several capacities, including assistant athletic business manager, assistant director of public relations and director of alumni affairs, where he founded the Seminole Boosters organization. The FSU Foundation was also founded under his leadership. After leaving the university, he worked as a lobbyist and later in private business. He was a charter member of the Colonel's Club. In 2001 he was presented with the FSU Alumni Association's highest honor, the Circle of Gold, which is given to individuals who have brought honor or given service toward the fulfillment of the mission of the university. He was on the board of directors of the Seminole Boosters and was a member of Faith Presbyterian Church. Survivors include two sons, Robert Lee Bannerman III of Tallahassee and Milo Bennett Bannerman of Takoma Park, Md.; two daughters, Martha Ellen Bannerman Entrekin of Davie and Jane Ann Bannerman Guiffre of Clarksville, Md.; a sister, Ann Bannerman Camp of Tallahassee; five grandchildren; three nephews; and two nieces.