David A. Britner of Kenneth City, Florida finished a life of exemplary living Thursday, July 21, 2022 at
age 82. He was born in Lorain, Ohio and served his country honorably in the United States Marine
Corp. Locally he was a 1958 graduate of Northeast High School. He is survived by two daughters:
Dawn Britner, (married to Amber Britner), Katrina Britner and five grandchildren: Chase, Jesse, &
Ben, Elli, & Andy. His closest friends and long-time neighbors, Bob & Jan Manning, passed on
before him. Their children, Rob Manning with wife Beth, and Kevin Manning will always be family as
will Rob & Beth's children Kristan Manning & Katie Evans (married to Cody Evans) and their 2 week old newest addition, Grant.

The family will receive friends at R. Lee Williams Funeral Home and will be honored by the St
Petersburg Fire Dept. Friday, August 12, 2022 from 11 am until time of service at 12 Noon.
Committal service will take place at 2 pm at Bay Pines National Cemetery with Military Honors. An
Open House will be held August 13th at his residence, from 12pm - 5pm.

A middle born child of ten children by John and Edna Britner, David is survived by his two brothers,
Larry & Jerry Britner and his sister Doris Rogers. In their youth, David and Larry, "Pee Wee," spent
endless hours hunting and playing in the woods. From this grew his affinity for the wild. David
would wrestle gators, hunt rattlesnakes & dig for gopher tortoises. He learned to cave dive and had
an oyster harvesting business with his best friend from childhood, Rex Knowles. While raising his girls, he also raised king snakes, baby raccoons and a trio of squirrels that fell out of their nest. He often fished in
the backyard lake off the hand-built dock and even spent a summer, with his girls, taming Large-
mouth Bass to the point you could hand feed them. Wherever he lived, he would call down wild birds
& wild squirrels to feed out of his hands. He once walked into an enclosure for rescued wolves and
the pack leader came and licked him on the face - something the rescue owner had never seen that
wolf ever offer to do with anyone else. The property, on which his current home sits, is a testament
to his wild nature and his tree farm is a continuation of his love of pine trees and woods. A special
thank you to his grandson, Jesse, who is taking beautiful care of that tree farm and to Rob and Kevin for taking many trips to this farm way up in North Florida and enjoying those moments with him.
"Practically Perfect" Dave, even in his youth, was always a rescuer. So it is no surprise that he
enjoyed his career as a St Petersburg Firefighter, working his way up to Fire Marshall before retiring
in 1984. During his career, he served as an arson investigator, and an expert witness in arson court
cases and helped invent residential fire sprinklers. Retirement did not stop Dave, as he found this an
opportunity to open his own business, Britner Fire Services, became Fire Chief for Kenneth City and
Fire Commissioner for Pinellas County. He also went back to work for the city as a Code Enforcement Officer. David was involved in many volunteer projects including, Paint St Pete Proud,
Toys for Tots, PTA President, Softball Coach, Arbitrator, Mediator, Public Notary, and was a leader
in the local chapter of Toastmasters. Of a small band of fire fighting friends: The Richie's, The
Seabo's, The Clark's and The Masters, he leaves their surviving members to carry on with as much
mischief-making as they can get into.

While David believed in no particular religion, he was deeply spiritual. He received a BA in
Metaphysics from the College of Metaphysical Studies in Clearwater. Then he became a teacher at
that college and won "Best Teacher of the Year" in 2002. He went on to get his Masters as well as
becoming their College President. As a mentalist, many people benefitted from his healing skills
including, but not limited to; past life regression, aura cleaning, distance healing, and in general
being a great spiritual leader.

As if all these accolades weren't enough… He was also a prolific pen and ink artist, a philanthropist,
and a published author of two non fiction books, "Imagine" and "The Book of David" and co-author of a science fiction novel "Urth". David was light on his feet as well. He not only could Jitterbug with the
best, swinging mom around like a pro, he was a pro. He was an instructor for Miracle Dance Studios.
Dave was a giver, the likes of which we could all model ourselves after. He made friends everywhere he went, from eating at small local restaurants to working in large organizations. If you are reading
this, know he counted you as a friend. As a dad, there was never a better champion for his children.
We, Dawn and Katrina, grew up in a home full of love and support, nurtured by both our dad and our
mom, June (Britner) Salvato. The both of us had many different interests, from softball and horses,
to community theater and entrepreneurship. No matter what the new endeavor, our parents were the rock on which we found security, even if that endeavor required a heck of a leap. His adventurous
nature, and bravery in the face of fear, was ingrained in both his children and grandchildren. He
used to tell us, "Lean forward, put your hands in the air, and enjoy the ride!"
Living on in his lineage, is his legacy of love, courage, artistry, and generosity.