He was there every day, the moment the restaurant opened, for as many as 15 years.

Wayne Wilson's interminable patronage made it feel like he was part of the staff at Clearwater's Painted Turtle Restaurant. Indeed, staff came to view the affable Vavenby man as part of their family.

"He was the first customer every day, he was here by 8 a.m. if not before that," Marlo Rhodes, front of house manager with the restaurant, told The Clearwater Times.

Wilson even had his own table at the Painted Turtle, located inside where nobody else is allowed to sit.

When Wilson passed away on Sept. 4, three days before his 79th birthday, it was a blow not only to his family, but to the folks at the restaurant, who paid tribute to him on social media.

In the Sept. 6 post, the Painted Turtle shared a phot

See Full Page