Thomas Kent "T.k." Wetherell

Thomas Kent "T.K." Wetherell

Tallahassee - Thomas Kent "T.K." Wetherell, 72, passed away December 16, 2018, in Tallahassee, Florida, after a courageous, 16 year battle with cancer. He is survived by Virginia "Ginger" Wetherell, his wife of 30 years; one son Thomas Kent Wetherell II (Edie); two step-daughters Page Bass and Blakely Bass (Hockkee Yeo); brother William J. Wetherell (Debbie); and three grandchildren Emily and Ty Wetherell and Wei-On Yeo.

Born and raised in Daytona Beach, T.K. was the son of Tom and Mildred Wetherell. He attended Florida State University on a football scholarship from 1963-67. He was once described by his position coach Bobby Bowden as a small, but speedy, dangerous player.

Wetherell earned not only his bachelor's and master's degrees but also a doctorate in education administration from Florida State University. T.K. was a lifelong educator who began as an academic counselor for student athletes at FSU and moved on to work at Florida Technological University, Bethune-Cookman College and Daytona Beach Community College.

From 1980-1992, T.K. proudly served the people of Florida in the Florida House of Representatives, serving successful terms as Appropriations Chair and House Speaker.

After leaving the legislature, T.K. became president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida. From 1995-2001, he served as president of Tallahassee Community College, leading it to become one of the top community colleges in the country.

In 2003, T.K. became the first alumnus of Florida State University to become its president. His tireless dedication, tenacity and visionary commitment to excellence helped raise its stature. As a result, FSU grew in student academic excellence, brought the Applied Superconductivity Center to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, renovated Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, and expanded the FSU College of Medicine.

He helped save the "Seminole" name by forging a strong relationship with the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

And he topped it off by enhancing campus facilities with more than $800 million in campus construction and renovation projects.

With the help and assistance of Ginger, he devoted significant attention to preserving and honoring the history of FSU, restoring campus traditions and focusing on campus

beautification with an emphasis on restoration of historic buildings, landscaping, signage, sculpture and art. A significant achievement included the construction of the stately President's House.

After retiring from the presidency in 2010, Wetherell continued working at Florida State to improve higher education as a professor in the College of Education and director of the Center for Higher Education Research, Teaching & Innovation.

He and Ginger enjoyed spending summers in Montana with friends and family. T.K. will be remembered as a loyal and fun-loving friend who enjoyed life and a good laugh. He loved his family and was a beloved friend to many.

The funeral service will be held on Friday, December 21 at 1 p.m. at Florida State University's Ruby Diamond Concert Hall. Doors will open at 12:15 p.m. A reception will follow on the Westcott Plaza.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages memorial donations to the Southern Scholarship Foundation Fund at the FSU Foundation (checks made payable to the FSU Foundation, 325 West College Ave. Tallahassee, FL 32301-1403) or to Big Bend Hospice (1723 Mahan Center Blvd, Tallahassee FL 32308).