Tonquin Gaines LaGrone, Esq
He was born on October 16, 1933, in Kings Mountain, NC, moved to Florida when he was young, and graduated from Hillsborough High School in Temple Terrace in 1951. He received his B.S. in Agricultural Chemistry from the University of Florida in 1955 and his M.A. in Entomology there in 1956. He was called to active duty in the US Navy in November of 1955, attended Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and served aboard the USS DeHaven DD-727 from 1956-59, the last two years as Operations Officer. He then returned to the University of Florida, where he won distinction as an associate editor of the law review and received his Juris Doctor in 1962. From that time until his retirement in 2004 he was a civil trial lawyer with offices in the Orlando area. TG was a pioneer in the representation of injured persons in medical negligence and railroad negligence cases. He became recognized as a board certified trial lawyer by the Florida Bar/Supreme Court and also the prestigious National Board of Trial Advocates. He was listed in Who's Who in American Law. He made numerous legal educational presentations to professional groups. He was active in pro bono representation, including over 50 guardian appointments for neglected or abandoned children, receiving five guardian ad litem merit awards. T.G. retired as a Captain in the Naval Reserve in 1993. He was a member in many professional and civic organizations, serving as an officer for a number of them, including the Florida Bar, The Orange County Bar Association, the National Board of Trial Advocates, the Melvin Belli Society, and the Florida Academy of Trial lawyers. T.G. was especially supportive of conservation groups, including The Nature Conservancy, Florida Wildlife Federation, International Oceanographic Foundation, The Wilderness Society, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Sierra Club, LA Wildlife Federation, Center for Marine Conservation, Coastal Conservation Association, the West Palm Beach Fishing Club, and the Central Florida Zoological Society. He was also a member of the USS DeHaven Sailors Association. He was an avid boater and fisherman, and developed original fly patterns for fish in Florida and for Rainbow Trout in Alaska. His parents, Tonquin Eben LaGrone and Mary Katherine Gaines LaGrone, predeceased him. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Ellen Lindsay LaGrone; and five children and their spouses and children: John T. LaGrone and Vanessa and their two sons, John LaGrone, and James LaGrone of Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Laurie LaGrone of Clayton, NC; James LaGrone and Paula of Tallahassee, FL; Matthew G. LaGrone of Edmond, OK; and Libra Marie LaGrone of New Orleans, LA.
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After successfully trying over 250 personal injury cases to jury verdict and settling more than 2500 cases in more than 40 years of practice, Captain Tonquin Gaines LaGrone, 77 and a Lake Mary resident, completed a long illness and life's trials on July 13, 2011.