"This is a sad day, indeed," wrote Clay Bennett in a note on the AAEC-L.
 
"I worked with Don Addis for thirteen years at the St. Petersburg Times. Both of us being cartoonists, our relationship was both collegial and competitive… with an emphasis placed on 'competitive'.

"We were never close friends, but we shared a passion for cartooning and an impatience with stupidity. So, although we may not have been bosom buddies, we were definitely kindred spirits.

"Having a second editorial cartoonist at the newspaper always kept me on my toes. Being published across the page from Don, I always felt like we were being compared directly, that we were in a daily cartooning competition. Some days, it went my way, other days it went his, but every single day it kept me working as hard as I could to sway the outcome of the contest.

"Even though we had dramatically different drawing styles, different approaches to our craft, and a different tone to our work, Don played an instrumental role in my development as a cartoonist. Not only did he have me constantly hustling to keep up with him, but also showed me, through example, how the same end could be achieved through drastically different means.

"I left the St. Pete Times over 15 years ago, but I still see glimmers of Don Addis appearing in my own work from time to time. Don both broadened my creative horizons as a cartoonist, and helped to inspire a work ethic that still has my wife complaining that I get home too late each night.

"I wouldn't be the cartoonist I am today had I not worked with, and competed against Don Addis. He was a cartoonist I admired, and a man the world will miss."

For the St. Pete obit of Don Addis, click here: https://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/former-times-cartoonist-don-addis-dies/1055351