William Russell Mote; Founded Marine Laboratory

William Russell Mote, 93, millionaire Florida businessman who founded a major marine laboratory. Mote was a Tampa native and avid sportfisherman who developed a love of Florida’s Gulf coast during his boyhood. He built a successful transportation business, Republic Carloading and Distributing Co., which gave him the financial resources to save a small marine laboratory at Cape Haze from bankruptcy in 1965. Renamed the Mote Marine Laboratory, it draws more than 400,000 visitors a year to its aquarium and includes the Center for Shark Research, an international consortium aimed at understanding and preserving shark species. Legendary in the sportfishing world, he came close to setting a world record in 1957 when he caught an 1,180-pound black marlin. He was a recipient of the International Oceanographic Foundation’s Gold Medal for his efforts to promote the study of the sea. He visited the marine laboratory nearly every day, even after both his legs were amputated two years ago because of vascular disease. His illness led him to donate $50,000 to establish the Mote Vascular Foundation, a nonprofit group devoted to public education about vascular disorders. On Tuesday in Sarasota, Fla., of kidney failure.