Thomas Vester Waite, III of Milton, Fla., passed away Monday, Aug. 23, 2010 after a short illness. Waite was born Aug. 19, 1943 and raised in Pensacola. He is the son of Eva Everitt Waite and Thomas Vester Waite Jr. Waite was an educator at Milton High School and local land developer at Waite Development, Inc.

He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Judy Mulkey Waite of Milton; his secretary of 28 years, Alma Kotula; an aunt, Teresa Barnes of Pensacola; cousins, Carolyn Stone of Milton, Barney Reid of Picayune, Miss., Reggie Alford of Lakeland, David Mann and Kurt Bonifay of Pensacola; his lifelong faithful friends, Paul Plant of Lawerenceburg, Tenn., Morgan Eiland, Birmingham, Ala., and Murdock Campbell of Gulf Breeze; four godchildren, Matt Terry of Cartersville, Ga., Anne Terry Vasile of Huntsville, Ala., Jon Paul Plant of Charlotte, N.C., and Sara Plant Williams of Lawrenceburg, Tenn.

Waite and his wife owned 2004 World Grand Champion The Black Night Shade until his death in 2008. Teamed with trainer Jimmy McConnell, The Black Night Shade won over 35 blue ribbons including three world championships and a world grand championship, the first for Waite. The Black Night Shade stood at stud at Joe Martin Stables until his passing.