Griffith Cline Funeral Home

Bradenton in 1892.”The second Mr. Walter Lane Preston, the “Grandson,” was too humble to tell the whisperers that he had left his own mark on the remarkable Manatee County family agricultural business — and it was no small one, his family said.Mr. Preston, who was born on Christmas Day 1928, died Sunday at age 87 after suffering a major stroke three weeks ago.“My dad didn’t really like the limelight,” Whiting Preston, Mr. Preston’s son and a fourth-generation Manatee Fruit Co. leader, said Tuesday. “He was always a very humble kind of person. He treated everyone the same. He was a tough guy but also very compassionate. He helped a lot of people out by either giving them a job or money. He did it on his own and did it quietly. He was the kind of person who never rang his own bell.”For three generations, Manatee Fruit Co. grew and sold vegetable and citrus, but it was the grandson of the founder who took the company into the flower business, creating what is now one of the largest floral production companies in the United States, Whiting Preston said.“We now ship flowers throughout the United States and Canada, and that’s a credit to Dad,” Preston said. “He pioneered a wide variety of crops. He developed several varieties of gladiolus and worked on carnations, as well. He brought in chrysanthemums, poinsettias, potted plants and foliage.”It was “The Grandson” who also realized the importance of branding.My dad didn’t really like the limelight. He was always a very humble kind of person. He treated everyone the same. He was a tough guy, but also very compassionate. He helped a lot of people out by either giving them a job or money. He did it on his own and did it quietly. He was the kind of person who never rang his own bell.Whiting Preston, Walter Lane Preston’s sonMr. Preston labeled all the flowers he sent with a “Manatee” brand, which promised quality and integrity and, as the years went on, enabled the company to charge more for its products, Whiting Preston said.“The name was Manatee Fruit Co. but the brand was ‘Manatee’ and he used that brand t... (Bradenton Herald)

Frank was raised in East Chicago and entered the U.S. Army proudly to serve his country. After his discharge, he returned to Northwest Indiana and made his home in Griffith. He was proud to be a Union Ironworker who logged over 50 active years in Ironworker's Local #395. He was a survivor of the original Cline Avenue bridge collapse in 1982. Always a colorful character, most who met Frank remember him. He was the guy who made going to work entertaining, even under the worst of conditions. Frank was a member of McKinley Lodge #712 F & AM; Past Master of Ivory C. Towel Lodge #136 (1979); past member of Roosevelt Lodge #716; past member of Dunes Lodge #714; member of Scottish Rite Valley of South Bend; member York Rite E.H. Gary CommanderyNo. 57 Knights Templar; and past member of Orak Shrine, Michigan City, Indiana. He also belonged to American Legion Post #369, East Chicago.Frank is survived by his step son, Jeffrey Willfond and step daughter, Julia Cassell; grandchildren: Adam (Erin) Pajor, Jessica Willfond and Ashley Willfond; great grandchildren: Rebekah, Nolan, Ryen, Londyn, Jewel and Bella. Siblings: Margaret (Eugene) Rose, James (Martha) Sutkowski and Catherine Sutkowski, many nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his loving wife, Patricia and his parents: Julius and Marie Sutkowski.Friends may meet with the family on Sunday July 30 from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at WHITE FUNERAL HOME located at 921 W. 45th Avenue Griffith, with a Masonic service at 6:00 p.m.Funeral service will be on Monday, July 31 at 11:00 a.m. at WHITE FUNERAL HOME with Pastor Shawn Cornett, cremation to follow.Frank will be remembered as a generous man who loved his family dearly. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis, central office, PO Box 305, Stevens Point, WI 54481, Attn: Sisters residing at Clare Oaks, Illinois: or the charity of your choice. (nwitimes.com)