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David Lee Longest, age 78, of Altamonte Springs, Florida died April 20, 2017. He was the husband of Jackie S. Longest (nee Johnson) for 45 years.

Dave was born on August 30, 1938 in Indiana and moved with his family to Florida in the mid-1950’s. In the early 1960’s, he worked for Martin Marietta, supporting programs that helped develop rockets used to realize American dreams of putting men in space.

In the late 1960’s, Dave joined a newly created company named Red Lobster. He was part of the crew to open one of the company’s very first restaurants in Orlando, FL. For over thirty years, Dave’s illustrious career took him from Manager Trainee to Director of Operations (1976), Regional Vice President (1982) and finally to Senior Vice President (1988). He retired in 2001 but continued to mentor and consult with colleagues in an unofficial capacity in an effort to help others in their development.

As a representative of Darden Restaurants and a proud card-carrying Republican, Dave accepted a Point of Light Award from President George H. W. Bush. This was a seminal moment in his life and one that he referred to fondly for many years.

Dave was a lifelong fan of Stock-car and Indy-car racing. In the early 1980’s, he was part of the management team that established the Red Lobster Racing program. Great and wonderful stories are still told about some of the activities that took place on the infield of one particular “24 Hours of Daytona” race where most of the Red Lobster leadership team watched.

As anyone that knew Dave was aware, he was an intensely smart man with a great sense of humor and the kind of magnetic personality that people would naturally gravitate his way when he entered the room. Dave had many other passions in life, like traveling, fishing, watching movies and playing poker, but nothing compared to his love and devotion to family.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his brother John B. Longest (Deb); his children, David L. Longest II, William P. Longest (Diane), Gregory M. Longest (Deborah), M. Scott Leete (Pam), Daniel R. Longest (Ann), Kelli Lepak (Ted) and Bradley T. Longest (Lesley); his grandchildren, Brandon, Theo, Brittany, Megan, Brent, Bryce, Brock, Brayden, Michael, Mary, Caroline, Jack, Jim, Ed, Joanna, Sierra, Olivia and David; his great-grandchildren Madison, McKenna, Mason and Myah.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations are directed to The Alzheimer’s Association. The Alzheimer’s Association aims to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research and to provide care and support for all those affected by the disease.