AUBURNDALE -- Be honest. Live simply. Play by the rules.

Mr. Fletcher L. "Bob" McKinney dispensed such advice frequently.

More importantly, he lived by it.

"He was just an honest, straightforward guy," said his son, Fletcher McKinney Jr. of Winter Haven. "He told the truth. He was a simple, honest man that dotted his I's and crossed his T's.

"There were no gray areas. He believed in one way, and that was the right way."

The retired owner of Advantage Insurance Agency in Auburndale died of cancer Sunday (July 24, 2005) in Winter Haven. He was 72.

The lifelong Floridian was born in Ocala on Feb. 23, 1933. He grew up in Gainesville, where he started a 40-year career in the insurance business with Gulf Life Insurance. He later transferred with the company, now American General, to Ocala, Sarasota, and Orange Park.

Mr. McKinney came to Auburndale in 1976.

He founded his own company, Advantage Insurance Agency in Auburndale, in 1992. Mr. MicKinney retired in 1998 and sold the business to his son.

In the last years of his life, Mr. McKinney devoted more time to his longtime interest of quail hunting, primarily at River Ranch.

Mr. McKinney served in the Army Color Guard from 1953 to 1956.

He was Protestant.

In addition to his son, Mr. McKinney is survived by his wife of many years, Mary Louise McKinney; daughter, Pamela McKinney Barrett, Auburndale; sisters, Mary Jeffcoat and Betty Ellis, both of Gainesville, Martha Jamerson, Crystal River, Judy Parkinson, Marietta, Ga.; stepbrother, William Coleman, Gainesville; stepsister, Ruth Bush, Tallahassee; six grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 this evening at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, 2425 W. Havendale Blvd., Winter Haven. Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home chapel. Burial will be in Auburndale Memorial Park.

By Rhonda Gentle
The Ledger