Obituary: Linton Tibbetts, Cox Lumber founder

Linton Tibbetts, a Florida lumberman who founded Cox Lumber, passed away on Oct. 6, according to his obituary. He was 88 years old.

Tibbetts, who split his time between St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Cayman Islands, opened LBM outlets in both locations. His U.S. operation, founded in 1949,  grew to 30 locations, making it one of the largest regional chains in the United States. In 2006, when Tibbetts sold Cox Lumber to Home Depot, the company’s annual revenues were $396 million.

“A gracious gentleman” was how Bill Tucker, president of the Florida Building Materials Association, described Tibbetts to Home Channel News. Tucker saw Tibbetts on Sept. 28 at the grand opening of the third location of Tibbetts Lumber, a new venture of the deceased. The latest location was in St. Petersburg, at the original headquarters of Cox Lumber.

Tibbetts was taken to the hospital the next day and died a week later.