TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Wade Hopping, who became one of the state's most prominent lobbyists, died Tuesday from complications of a stroke and esophageal cancer, his law firm announced. He died a day before his 78th birthday.

Hopping became the youngest Supreme Court justice in Florida history when he was appointed by former Gov. Claude Kirk to fill an unexpired term on the bench in 1968, but was defeated later that year in an election for a full term. Shortly afterward, the office of Supreme Court justice was changed from an elected post to one appointed by the governor.

An Ohio native, Hopping graduated from law school at Ohio State University in 1955 and then served with the U.S. Army in Korea for two years. He moved to Florida in 1958.

He founded one of the state's most prestigious law firms, Hopping, Boyd, Green & Sams, in 1979 and remained active through the last legislative session.