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Epilogue: St. Petersburg dentist Dr. Reginald Ligon remembered for 'big, big heart'

 
From left, Shannon Ligon, Mendee Ligon, Reginald Brian Ligon,  Reginald Ligon and Evan Ligon. (Photo Courtesy of Mendee Ligon).
From left, Shannon Ligon, Mendee Ligon, Reginald Brian Ligon, Reginald Ligon and Evan Ligon. (Photo Courtesy of Mendee Ligon).
Published Aug. 26, 2017

ST. PETERSBURG — Dr. Reginald "Reggie" Ligon was a big guy, but his friends remember he had an even bigger heart.

Dr. Ligon, 66, who with his wife and son ran Ligon Dental Group, died Sunday.

Born in Terre Haute, Ind., Dr. Ligon followed his brother to Florida, where he worked as a dentist with him, eventually taking over the practice. In 1978, he met his future wife, Dr. Mendee Ligon, at a dental convention in Washington, D.C.

He told her he was going to spoil her so rotten no one else would want her, she said.

"He was just so kind and gentle and sensitive and a loving person, and I saw all these great qualities in this person and I wondered, can this be real?" she said. "Can he be this nice for real? And he was."

It took him two years to convince her, but the two married and Mendee moved to join him in Florida.

After his brother died, Dr. Ligon took over the practice and he and his wife later moved to a spot on Central Avenue and started Ligon Dental Group, where their son later worked alongside them.

"We had each other's back the whole way," Mendee said. "We were very much a team with everything."

Mendee said Dr. Ligon's big heartedness got him involved in several organizations in the community. He was active at McCabe United Methodist Church, served on a foundation board of All Children's Hospital, and was president of the Suncoasters in 1999. He was one of the founders of the Relay for Life in south St. Petersburg, and was president of Bay Point Little League for about 10 years.

"I remember telling him once, 'I wish you'd stop joining things,' " Mendee said with a laugh. "Sometimes our calendar would be so full we wouldn't have any down time. … He became a father figure to a lot of people and mentored a lot of young people. … I think it was just who he was. I think he felt that his accomplishments were because of other people who took time to mentor him and he had a big sense of giving back."

Former mayoral candidate Deveron Gibbons said Dr. Ligon was a mentor he could always turn to. His father had been fraternity brothers with him in Alpha Phi Alpha and Gibbons said Dr. Ligon was a "gentle giant" who was "very thoughtful and a brilliant guy."

" 'You lost the race, but you gained a lot in the process,' " Gibbons said he remembered Dr. Ligon telling him. "I can remember certain situations where I was upset about things. He always said look at the other person's perspective."

Dr. Ligon often volunteered dental services to pregnancy centers and the county, and, Gibbons said, to people who didn't have dental insurance.

"And you wouldn't hear about it because he was not a braggadocios person," Gibbons said.

Larry Williams, who served on the City Council from 1995 to 2001 and twice ran for mayor, said he knew Dr. Ligon for more than 20 years when they first met as neighbors and later became close family friends.

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Williams said he was struck by his determination.

When he was president of Bay Point Little League, he spoke to the other leagues about tournament play. But they told him they wouldn't drive their kids to the south side of the city because of preconceptions they had about the area, Williams said.

So Dr. Ligon, Williams and a few others decided that wasn't acceptable, Williams said. They wanted to build a field that was good enough to attract the other leagues. They approached the principal of Lakewood High School to ask about some spare land behind the school.

At a meeting with the county and the School Board, Williams said the principal and others didn't try to push too hard.

"Reggie made the statement in front of everybody," Williams said. "He told the story of being president of the Little League and (the other teams) wouldn't come for All Stars. … You could've heard a fly fly around the room."

The Bay Point Little League field was built, and Dr. Ligon spent many weeknights cleaning and maintaining the field, Ken Bryant, his friend of more than 30 years, said.

Dr. Ligon was also an avid fisherman, spending much time on the water. Once, because Bryant wanted to catch a marlin, Dr. Ligon chartered a boat from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini.

"Just for me to catch my marlin," Bryant said. "We didn't catch a marlin, but we filled the freezer up with fish the first day and caught many big game fish."

He said he remembered his loving spirit.

"He had a big, big heart," Bryant said. "That translated in his children as well. … His youngest daughter was calling me the next day trying to comfort me. That reminded me so much of him. She was more worried about me than herself."

Evan Ligon, Dr. Ligon and Mendee's youngest daughter, said her father always had something positive to say to people.

"He was the most loving guy," she said. "A lot of people describe him as a big teddy bear. As soon as you met him, you were like family with him and he'd just make you feel that way."

Contact Divya Kumar at dkumar@tampabay.com. Follow @divyadivyadivya.