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LONGBOAT OBSERVER
YourObserver.com
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2013
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EBBESON / FROM PAGE 1A
Born March 16, 1945, in the coastal city
of Halmstad, Sweden, he was the second
of three sons. He graduated with a degree
in business administration from Lund
University, in Sweden, then worked in his
family’s business, which was later sold to
Electrolux, the Swedish appliance manufacturer.
In Sarasota, he went on to open his own
company, Intercon Marketing, a distributor of appliances.
Court records show that he was married
to his first wife, Margita, for 16 years before
the couple divorced in 1990. They had one
daughter, Louise, who was born in 1982.
He built his home in Bay Isles on Longboat Key in 1989, according to property
records. He and Harris had lived in the
Sarasota home they completed last year
but still owned their Longboat Key home.
Ebbeson and Harris met on a blind date
at the opera in the 1990s.
Graci McGillicuddy said she first met
Ebbeson at Michael’s On East shortly after
the couple’s first date so she could size him
up and determine whether he was a good
fit for Harris, her close friend.
“I just think they were very complementary,” McGillicuddy said. “They were both
totally different people but together they
really complemented one another.”
The couple married in 1996, first in a
civil ceremony, and then in a religious ceremony a Swedish church in Paris on New
Year’s Eve of that year.
Ebbeson remained close to many of his
childhood friends in Sweden, according to
his friend, former Longboat Key resident
Bob Sewell.
“(They were) just warm, nice wonderful
people who were a reflection of who Anders was,” Sewell said.
On more than one occasion, Ebbeson
and Harris renewed their vows in the Paris
church where they married with other
couples both from Sweden and the Sara-
sota/Longboat Key area.
Harris’ political career brought her into
the spotlight, particularly following her
role as Florida secretary of state during the
2000 contested presidential election, and
later when she became congresswoman,
then launched an unsuccessful bid for the
U.S. Senate in 2006.
Ebbeson was always by Harris’ side but
generally avoided the limelight.
“Anders was one of the most reserved,
quiet, charming gentlemen one could
ever meet,” wrote longtime Colony Beach
& Tennis Resort owner Dr. Murray “Murf”
Klauber and his wife, Sue, in an email to
the Longboat Observer.
“He was a private man. He preferred
to be in the background,” said Ebbeson’s
close friend, Charles Jennings, who described his friend as easygoing, affable and
“just a really nice gentleman.”
Jennings played golf every Saturday with
Ebbeson, usually at the Resort at Longboat
Key’s Islandside golf course.
“You learn a lot about a person while
playing golf,” Jennings said. “He was an extremely honest man.”
In addition to golf, Ebbeson enjoyed
traveling and cooking.
“Their Christmas meals were just unbelievable,” McGillicuddy said. “He would
prepare all this Swedish food and all his
Swedish relatives would be there.”
Friends expressed shock as news of
Ebbeson’s death broke Tuesday.
Jennings said that he was aware that
Ebbeson had been hospitalized earlier this
year, although he was usually “pretty private with his health concerns.” Ebbeson
didn’t seem depressed, according to Jennings.
“Anders was so incredibly special and
none of us can understand,” McGillicuddy
said.
Funeral arrangements were not available as of press time.
Digital Content Producer Alex Mahadevan contributed to this story.
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