February 9, 1919 – February 21, 2013
We lost a much-loved mother, grandmother, aunt, great-aunt, friend and neighbour with Flo’s death at RJH after a brief final illness. Predeceased by her parents, her brother Edward, sisters Jessie Brown and Maude Price and their husbands Ron and Bud, her brothers- and sisters-in-law. Also predeceased by her daughter-in-law Jill Wallace two years ago, and by her beloved Ken, her husband of 56 years, who died 15 years ago to the day. Survived by son Jack, grandsons Andrew in Toronto and Geoffrey in Victoria and their partners Shantona Chaudhury and Sara Conkin, her co-grandmother Lois Wallace, sister-in-law Shirlee Macdonald in Portland, and by many nieces and nephews, grand- and great-nieces and grand- and great-nephews in BC, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Illinois and North Carolina.
Flo was born and grew up in the house her dad built right across the street from what is now Hollywood Park, in the days when the tram lines ran right along Fairfield. She was a life-long Victorian, except for the war years she spent in Vancouver as a newlywed with Ken, and a year in Oregon in the mid-fifties. Flo learned to swim in Little Ross Bay and Gonzales Bay, and recalled how her first exposure to excessively warm and insufficiently salty lake water left her singularly unimpressed. She attended Margaret Jenkins School, as did her son and grandsons, and then Vic High. A demon tennis player and card shark in her youth, she always had a twinkle in her eye and mischievous sense of humour, and she loved nothing better than being with friends and family. Her cooking was renowned, and especially legendary were her fruit pies and other desserts.
Following her retirement after many years of managing the offices and accounts of retail businesses and medical offices in Victoria, Flo went on to volunteer work at the RJH Auxiliary, its Thrift Shop and Thrifty’s Sendial. In everything she did, she devoted her great intelligence, determination, focus, attention to detail, and organizational skills.
With thanks for decades of care from Dr. Brian Pound, and for the care she received in the last three years from the good people at Parkwood Court, and in her final days from the doctors and nurses on 4SE at the Jubilee.
A gathering in Flo’s honour will be held from 3-5 p.m. on Saturday, March 2 at Jack’s home, 2010 Runnymede Avenue in Victoria. While not at all necessary, donations can be made in her memory to the Vic High Alumni Association, or to any charity of your choosing. Condolences to the family may be offered below.
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